Prevalence of needle stick injuries among nurses in a tertiary care hospital and their immediate response

Abstract

Prevalence of needle stick injuries among nurses in a tertiary care hospital and their immediate responseContext: Needle stick injuries (NSIs) are wounds caused by needles in health care setup that accidentally puncture the skin and may result in exposure to blood or other body fl uids. NSI is a major occupational health and safety issue faced by health care professionals globally. Nurses have the highest rate of needle stick injury among health care workers. Aims: To determine the prevalence of needle stick injuries (NSIs) among the nurses, to determine the association between NSI and selected variables like age, marital status, years in service, educational qualifi cation and to assess the measures undertaken by the respondents after the NSI. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Imphal among nurses from October to November 2011. Self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used. Chi square test was used to see the association and a P-value of <0.05 was taken as signifi cant. Results: The prevalence of NSI within the last one year was found to be 28.1% (N=86). Of them 49(46.5%) had two or more NSIs in the last one year. More than half of the NSIs occurred during intravenous (IV) injection, 16.3% during intramuscular (IM) injection and only 1.6% during recapping of the needle. Eighty three (96%) of them did not were gloves during NSI. Forty (46.5%) of them washed the injured part with water and soap as immediate measure. Thirty seven (43%) did not report it. Though 251(82%) knew about the free availability of Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) in the hospital, only 5(5.7%) took PEP. Conclusion: Needle stick injury is an important occupational health hazard among the nurses. Reporting to the concerned authorities, screening after NSI and promotion of safety measures should be greatly encouraged. Key words:Cross-sectional study, needle stick injuries, nurses, post-exposure prophylaxis, prevalence Original Article INTRODUCTIONNeedle stick injuries (NSIs) are wounds caused by needles used in health-care set-up that may accidentally puncture the skin resulting in exposure to blood or other body fl uids. NSI is a major occupational health and safety issue faced by health-care professionals globally. These events are of concern because of the risk of blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the human immunodefi ciency virus (HIV). Despite their seriousness as a medical event, NSIs have been neglected, most go unreported and ICD-10 coding is not available. [1] World Health Organization, in its World Health Report 2002, reports that of 35 million health-care workers, 2 million experience percutaneous exposure to infectious diseases each year. Around 37.6% of hepatitis B, 39% of hepatitis C and 4.4% of HIV/acquired immunodefi ciency syndrome in healthcare workers around the world are due to NSIs. [2] NSIs are a common event in the health-care environment and these injuries may occur ...

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