Where Most Injuries Occur
Although sharp devices can cause injuries anywhere in the healthcare environment, most (40%) occur in inpatient units, such as medical floors, intensive care units, and operating rooms.
When Most Injuries Occur
Sharp-related injuries generally occur after use and before disposal of the sharp device (41%), while the sharp device is being used on a patient (39%), and during or after removal (16%).
Who Gets Injured
Injuries from disposable syringes continue to affect nurses more than any other professional group (53%).
What Causes Most Injuries
The majority of sharp-related injuries (66%) occur while using various types of needle systems and syringes. However, sharps injuries also occur while using scalpel blades (7%) and intravenous catheter stylets (6%).
Case Report
The following case report describes the experience of two health care workers who developed severe infections after occupational exposures to bloodborne pathogens. This case illustrates several preventable hazardous conditions and practices that can lead to needlestick injuries.
An AIDS patient became agitated and tried to remove the intravenous (IV) catheter in his arm. Several hospital staff members struggled to restrain the patient. An IV infusion line was pulled during the struggle, exposing the connector needle inserted into the IV catheter's access port. A nurse at the scene recovered the connector needle at the end of the IV line. She tried to reinsert it when the patient kicked her arm, pushing the needle into the hand of a second nurse. The nurse who sustained the needlestick injury tested negative for HIV that day. However, the injured nurse tested HIV positive several months later.
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1-2. Where do most sharps injuries occur in a healthcare setting?
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