The Prevalence of Needlestick Injuries and Exposure to Blood and Body Fluids Among Iranian Healthcare Workers: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Injuries caused by needles and sharp and cutting objects include wounds, cuts, or abrasions caused by medical devices that may have already been contaminated with blood or other body fluids. 1 In most studies on injuries caused by needles and sharp objects, the injuries are introduced as an important occupational hazard for healthcare workers. 2,3 There are about thirty-five million healthcare workers in the world who make up 12% of the world labor force. 4 The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 385 000 healthcare workers in America annually experience injuries caused by needles and sharp objects. 5 In some countries, including Iran, despite safety precautions, injuries caused by needles and sharp objects still occur, inflicting significant economic and human costs. 6 More than 90% of infections caused by sharp tools among healthcare workers occur in low-income countries where these injuries are preventable. 7,8 Given the necessity for a coherent review study regarding injuries caused by needles, sharp objects, blood and body fluids, the current study aimed to make an analytical review of previous research conducted in this regard to determine the prevalence of the phenomenon among Iranian healthcare workers. Methods This study was a systematic review of the research conducted in the field of injuries caused by needlestick, sharp objects, and exposure to blood and body fluids among Iranian healthcare workers.

Occupational exposures to blood and body fluids among healthcare workers in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…This finding is also inconsistent with a study in Iran which reported the prevalence of exposures at 46.47% [55]. The variance could be due to the discrepancies in the study participants (service personnel, paramedics, and nursing students were included) [55], types of included studies (historical cohort study were included in Iranian review) [55], the type of healthcare facilities (in the present review we included HCWs from primary healthcare units), and socio-demographic factors [9]. Generally, the lifetime BBF exposure rate in this study (54.9%) seems to be very low when we compared with the annual BBF exposure rate 44%.…”

Occupational Exposures to Blood and Body Fluids among Healthcare Workers in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The foremost reason for this variation may be due to study setting dissimilarities. This finding is also inconsistent with a study in Iran which reported the prevalence of exposures at 46.47% [56]. The variance could be due to the discrepancies in the study participants, the type of healthcare facilities, and socio-demographic factors.…”

Prevalence of needlestick injury among healthcare workers in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The lifetime prevalence range was slightly better than the finding from Pakistan (30 to 73%) [62]. Also, a systematic review from Iran has estimated the NSI prevalence to be between 10 and 84.3% [63]. This variation could be due to differences in awareness, training opportunity, degree of exposure to needles, availability, and utilization of protective devices recall bias and slight methodological differences among studies.…”