Avoiding needlestick injuries

According to the American Nurses Association, health care workers (HCWs) suffer between 600,000 and one million injuries from conventional needles and sharps annually. These exposures can lead to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.

At least 1,000 HCWs are estimated to contract serious infections annually from needlestick and sharps injuries, with nurses sustaining the overwhelming majority of these exposures.

Over 80 percent of needlestick injuries are preventable with the use of safer needle devices, but less than 15 percent of U.S. hospitals use them. The safer needles cost .28 cents more per needle, but the expense is minimal compared with the approximate $1 million for a needlestick that results in a serious infection.

The CDC reports that many of these injuries can be prevented by using safer devices, such as needleless IV systems and blunted, retracted or shielded needles. Healthcare employees should use:

* a safe needle device or needleless system for withdrawal of body fluids
* use needleless systems or needles with engineered sharps protection for other procedures requiring needle devices
* use non-needle sharps that include engineered sharps protection such as certain surgical equipment
* use safe handling techniques

Hand washing

Since the early 19th century, hand washing has been known to be the most effective method for halting the spread of disease, yet the compliance rate for health care workers is unacceptably low – from 14% to less than 50%, according to an American Nurses Assoication report published in the American Journal of Nursing.

Lack of hand hygiene promotion and administrative sanctions for non-compliance are the main reasons for the low figures. Organizations should actively campaign to have health care workers follow these hand washing procedures:

* wash when hands are visibly soiled, when gloves are removed, before direct contact with a patient and after contact with a patient’s skin or bodily fluids
* the correct method for handwashing is to wet the hands, apply soap and rub vigorously for 15 seconds, covering all surfaces of the hands and fingers
* hand gels can be used for disinfection by applying the recommended amount in one palm and rubbing the hands together, covering all surfaces of hands and fingers until the hands are dry
* an adverse effect of handwashing is skin irritation; healthcare workers should be provided with lotions that minimize skin irritation
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