Requirements and Evaluation of Sharps Injury Prevention Devices / 中国医疗器械杂志

Accidental sharps injuries are a serious problem in healthcare, many healthcare workers acquire infectious diseases from bloodborne pathogens by sharps injuries during their work. The cost of injury and exposure takes an emotional and financial toll, which has attracted worldwide attention. This paper analyzed the regulatory requirements on sharps injury prevention devices in the United States and the European Union, described the classification and basic requirements of sharps injury prevention devices, evaluation of protective functions, risk identification and control to provide references for regulation and development of such products in our country.

Effects of a Finger Guard while Opening the Glass Ampoule by Nursing Students

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of a finger guard developed to prevent sharp injuries in nursing students.METHODS: This study was an equivalent control group posttest design. Seventy nursing students were randomly allocated to either the experimental group (n=35) or the control group (n=35). The finger guard was used whileopening the glass ampoule in the experimental group. The outcome variables such as sharp injuries, anxiety and user satisfaction were measured.RESULTS: Sharp injuries were 0 in the experimental group and 2 in the control group (p=.160). Anxiety in the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group (p < .001). User satisfaction was 4.33 score in the range from 1 to 5, the highest item was the weight (4.63), followed by effectiveness (4.51).CONCLUSION: Using a protective device while opening the glass ampoule was observed to be effective in reducing anxiety among the nursing students, and exhibited protection of skin.

Dispositivos de segurança em instrumentos perfurocortantes versus acidentes com exposição a material biológico / Safety-engineered sharp devices versus accidents with exposure to biological material / Dispositivos de seguridad en instrumentos cortopunzantes versus accidentes con exposición a material biológico

Objetivou-se analisar, a partir da literatura, a relação entre a incorporação de dispositivos de segurança em instrumentos perfurocortantes e a ocorrência de acidentes de trabalho com o uso desses instrumentos, envolvendo profissionais da área da saúde. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa, realizada nos bancos de dados Scientific Eletronic Library Online e Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, cujos descritores foram segurança de equipamentos, gestão de risco, prevenção de acidentes, exposição a agentes biológicos e pessoal de saúde. Como resultado, foram encontrados 14 artigos, publicados no período de 2006 a 2014, os quais foram discutidos em duas categorias: dispositivo de segurança em instrumentos perfurocortantes e acidentes utilizando instrumentos perfurocortantes com e sem dispositivo de segurança. Conclui-se que a incorporação de dispositivos de segurança em instrumentos perfurocortantes proporciona redução de acidentes relacionados à exposição a material biológico; favorece economicamente a instituição; promove a segurança e a saúde dos trabalhadores e, consequentemente, melhora a qualidade da assistência prestada aos clientes.

This integrative literature review, to examine the relationship between safety engineering of sharp devices and the occurrence of accidents among health care professionals using these devices, was conducted on the Scientific Electronic Library Online and Virtual Health Library databases, with the descriptors [in Portuguese] equipment safety, risk management, accident prevention, exposure to biological agents, and health personnel. The 14 articles found as a result were discussed in two categories: safety engineering on sharp devices, and accidents using sharp devices with and without safety engineering. It was concluded that safety engineering on sharp devices has yielded a reduction in accidents involving exposure to biological material; favors the institution economically; promotes workers' health and safety and, consequently, improves the quality of client care.

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar la relación entre la incorporación de dispositivos de seguridad en instrumentos cortopunzantes y la ocurrencia de accidentes laborales al usar estos instrumentos, con la participación de profesionales de la salud, a partir de la literatura. Se trata de una revisión integradora de literatura realizada en los bancos de datos Scientific Eletronic Library Online y Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, cuyos descriptores fueron seguridad de equipos, gestión de riesgos, prevención de accidentes, exposición a agentes biológicos y personal de salud. Como resultado, se encontraron 14 artículos, publicados en el periodo de 2006 a 2014, que fueron discutidos en dos categorías: dispositivos de seguridad en instrumentos cortopunzantes, y accidentes utilizando instrumentos cortopunzantes con y sin dispositivos de seguridad. Se concluye que la incorporación de dispositivos de seguridad en instrumentos cortopunzantes proporciona una reducción de accidentes relacionados con la exposición a material biológico; favorece económicamente la institución; promueve la seguridad y la salud de los trabajadores y, consecuentemente, mejora la calidad de la asistencia proporcionada a los clientes.

The epinet data of four Indian hospitals on incidence of exposure of healthcare workers to blood and body fluid: A multicentric prospective analysis.

Background : Sharps injury (SI) and blood and body fluid exposure are occupational hazards to healthcare workers (HCWs). Although data from the developed countries have shown the enormity of the problem, data from developing countries, such as India, arelacking. Purpose : The purpose of this study was to cumulate data from fourmajor hospitals in India and analyze the incidence of SI and blood and body fluid exposure in HCWs. Materials and Methods : Four Indian hospitals (hospital A, B, C and D) from major cities of India participated in this multicentric study. Data ranging from 6 to 26 months were collected from these hospitals using Exposure Prevention Information network (EPINet) which is the database created by International Healthcare Worker Safety Research and Resource Center, University of Virginia. Results : Two hundred and forty-three sharp injuries and 22 incidents of blood or body fluid exposure were encountered in the cumulated 50 months of our study. The incidence of SIswas thehighestamong nurses (55%) of allthe HCWs, akin to the global data. An injury rate of nearly 20% among housekeeping staff seems to be specific to the Indian data. Patient's room followed by operation theater appeared to be common locations of injury in our study. The source of the injury was identified in majority (64%) of the injuries. A major part of the group was not the primary users of the sharp (38%). Disposable needles caused nearly half of the injuries. Suture needles contributed to a reasonable number of injuries in one of the hospitals. Conclusions : The incidence of SI is the highest among nurses and the housekeeping staff (>30% each). A substantial number of injuries are avoidable.

Descriptive Study of Reported Bloodborne Exposures in Health Care Workers in a University Hospital / 병원감염관리

BACKGROUND: Health care workers (HCWs) are exposed to patients' blood occupationally by needlesticks or sharps injuries and by direct contact to mucous membranes or skins. This study was performed to investigate actively the descriptive epidemiology of HCWs' blood exposures in a University Hospital in Korea. METHODS: Over a 5 year period (from Jan, 1996 to Dec. 31, 2000), in a acute, educational, tertiary and about 1,500 beds university hospital, blood exposure episodes were reported by HCWs. The reported cases of 532 were analysed epidemiologically and statistically using PC SAS 6.12. RESULTS: The proportions of male and female were 44.0% (234), 56.0% (298) respectively the mean age was 29.2 years and the mode of career was 12 months. Distributions by job titles were 44.9% (239/532) in doctors' 29.5% (157/532) in registered nurses' 9.0% (48/532) in aid nurses, 6.4%(34/532) in housekeepers and 4.3%(23/532) in technicians. The proportions per 100 HCWs by job category were 4.4%(239/5,489) in doctors, 3.7%(157/4,262) in registered nurses and 1.3%(23/ 1,786) in technicians. and that per 100 beds was 6.8% (529/7,730). Distribution of reported cases were 13.0% (69/532), 11.5% (61/532), 9.2%(49/532) in March, April and May respectively. The major type of exposure was percutaneous injuries (96.3%, 513/533), and the most of them was needlesticks (91.4%, 469/513). The largest number of blood exposures occurred in inpatient ward(48.4%, 257/532) and the most injured body part was fingers (782%, 412/527), especially 1st finger (25%, 84/332). Blood exposure accidents were occurred during invasive procedures(66.3%, 341/514) and most of them were blood sampling(22.9%, 78/341) and recapping(20.8%, 71/341). Hepatitis B virus was the major bloodborne pathogens of reported cases (55.8%. 293/525). Post exposure prophylaxis and follow up were done for susceptible person but the seroposive conversions in them were not found. The association between job categories and exposure types and that between job titles and occurrence places were significant statistically(CMH chi-square p=0.001). The reporting cases of HBV exposures were decreased but those of HIV exposures were increased annually during the study period. CONCLUSION: We could find the descriptive epidemiology of Hews' occupational exposures to blood in a university hospital in Korea. And we can support the data in order to establish the policy or act for HCWs' safety and health from the boodborne hazards. In addition, to confirm the preventive effects of infection control activities for Hews from the risk of bloodborne diseases.