Use of Safety Devices and the Prevention of Percutaneous Injuries Among Healthcare Workers

Abstract

Proper use of engineered devices to prevent percutaneous injury is a highly effective measure to prevent these injuries among healthcare workers. However, education and training are the keys to achieving the greatest preventative effect.

Blood-borne viruses in health care workers: Prevention and management

“…23,24 Use of these devices might partly explain the decrease in the incidence of occupational exposure over time in France (Table 1). Several recent studies demonstrated the impact of SEDs on needle stick injuries.…”

Ongoing Use of Conventional Devices and Safety Device Activation Rates in Hospitals in Ontario, Canada

“…(13) Subsequently, this was confirmed by individual studies published after 2005 that found risk reduction ranging from 49% to 93%. (14)(15)(16)(17)(18) Additional evidence has come from comparing rates before and after passage of the U.S. Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act (NSPA) in 2000 (19) that explicitly mandated the use of safety devices. Based on reports from departments outside the operating room in 87 hospitals, PI rates were found to have decreased by 31.6% between 2006 and 2001.…”

Circumstances Surrounding Occupational Blood Exposure Events in the National Study to Prevent Blood Exposure in Paramedics

“…First, we found that 80% of the needle/lancet sticks occurred with non-safety devices. Considered in the context of earlier findings from this study-that the incidence rate of needle/lancet sticks was much lower 1) and the use of safety devices was much higher 7) in California compared to the U.S. as a whole-this suggests that, as with hospital health care workers [9][10][11] , increased use of safety devices by paramedics would reduce paramedics' risk of blood exposure. Furthermore, we reported previously that provision of safety devices by the employer was a major determinant of safety device use by paramedics 7) .…”