RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Needlestick injury has been identified as a major cause of exposure to blood and body fluids. The heparin-lock intermittent intravenous procedure was implicated in the largest number of needlestick-related exposures (26%) at this 1100-bed tertiary care hospital, and replacement of this system was imperative. Cost concerns, however, necessitated that replacement products not increase overall hospital costs. METHODS: A needleless intravenous access system (Interlink i.v. Access System; Baxter Healthcare Corp., Parenterals Division, Deerfield, Ill.) was introduced. Effectiveness and cost-benefit of this system were analyzed by comparing needlestick injuries and their associated costs, as well as costs of relevant products and procedures, for the year before introduction of the new product with those for 1 year after implementation of the new system. RESULTS: During the study period, the needleless access system was 78.7% effective in reducing intravenous line-related needlestick injuries. There was an overall reduction of 43.4% in total needlestick injuries from all procedures and events. The incremental cost to this hospital ranged from a 5.3% additional cost to a 5.7% savings, without even considering the less quantifiable benefits associated with avoidance of needlestick injury, time saved by using this product, and decreased infection rate. CONCLUSION: When used as intended, this system was extremely effective in reducing intravenous line-related needlestick injuries, and the system does pay for itself.
Assuntos
Infusões Intravenosas/instrumentação , Ferimentos Penetrantes Produzidos por Agulha/prevenção & controle , Exposição Ocupacional/estatística & dados numéricos , Recursos Humanos em Hospital , Análise Custo-Benefício , Estudos de Avaliação como Assunto , Hospitais com mais de 500 Leitos , Humanos , Controle de Infecções/métodos , Infusões Intravenosas/economia , Manitoba/epidemiologia , Eliminação de Resíduos de Serviços de Saúde/economia , Ferimentos Penetrantes Produzidos por Agulha/economia , Ferimentos Penetrantes Produzidos por Agulha/epidemiologia , Exposição Ocupacional/economiaRESUMO
The Certification Board of Infection Control directed its Research Subcommittee to compose a Job Analysis Committee in 1991. This 9-member Job Analysis Committee, in collaboration with Applied Measurement Professionals, Inc., conducted a job analysis of ICPs during 1992. The reassessment of the previous Certification Board of Infection Control task analysis, formation of a job-analysis survey tool, and the actual job-analysis process and its results are described in this article. The previous and newly revised test specification outlines are compared. The national Certification Examination for Infection Control for November 1993 will reflect the efforts of this endeavor.
