Needle stick injuries among nurses of two tertiary care hospitals of Lahore: A KAP study

Abstract

Background: Needle Stick Injuries (NSIs) are wounds caused by needles that accidentally puncture the skin. NSI are one of the commonest occupational hazards to which a Health Care Worker is exposed.2 million out of 35 million health care workers experience NSI per year.90% of Hep.B, Hep.C and HIV cases among health care workers due to NSI occur in the developing countries. A high prevalence of needle-stick injuries in Pakistan estimated around 55%.This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of needlestick injuries in female nurses of a public and private hospital and compare the findings.Methods and materials: This cross-sectional study was conducted at one public and one private tertiary care hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. Comprised of female nurses who were selected using nonprobability purposive sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to interview the subjects. Data analysis was done using SPSS 17.Results: Of the 386 participants, there were 193(50%) from each of the two hospitals. The prevalence of needle-stick injuries was found to be 85(44%) in public and 51(26.4%) in the private hospital. The highest proportion of injuries in both hospitals occurred while disposing or recapping needles, 36(42.4%) and 32(62.7%) in public and private hospitals, respectively, especially in the morning shift, i.e. 42(49.4%) in public and 32(62.7%) in private hospital.Syringe needles were mostly involved, 51(60%) in public and 45(88.2%) in private hospital. Conclusion:The prevalence of needle-stick injuries was higher in public hospital.

Prevalence of Needle Stick Injuries Among Nurses in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

“…8 It is also important to identify the factors associated with NSIs and reduce them due to a large number of injuries. 9 A study conducted in Ethiopia showed that the prevalence of NSIs at the Dessie referral hospitals among nurses was 43%. The findings of that study showed that applying universal precaution and training related to NSIs of sharp objects and needle extraction had a great association with the reduction of needle stick and sharps injuries.…”