Needlestick injuries in nurses--the Poznań study.

OBJECTIVES: Needlestick injuries in healthcare workers are common. They are one of the main ways of transmitting large numbers of pathogenic micro-organisms in healthcare institutions. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence and circumstances of needlestick injuries in a selected population of nurses from the city of Poznań and the Wielkopolskie province.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was filled in by 232 active nurses with secondary education, studying externally at the Medical University in Poznań. The sample was representative of nursing specialisations and workplaces of nurses in Poznań and the Wielkopolskie province. It comprised of nurses aged 22-51 years (mean, 35 years) and with work experience of 2-31 years (mean, 13 years). The workplaces of the study group were fairly diverse, but the great majority of nurses were employed in inpatient care, working in shifts (166 people).
RESULTS: The probability of needlestick injuries per year equals 28.0%. Accidents of this kind were most common among nurses working in surgical wards, operating rooms, emergency medical care, GP surgeries and dialysis units. There were significant differences in the incidence of needlestick injuries between GP surgeries (statistically more common) on the one hand, and surgical wards, non-surgical wards and operating rooms on the other. Moreover, accidents in operating rooms and surgical wards were significantly more common compared to non-surgical wards. Instruments contaminated with infectious material accounted for 73.8% of the injuries in the study group of nurses. They were usually injection needles. Injuries from sterile needles, clean scalpels and contaminated scalpels were much less common. In the vast majority of cases, injuries were self-inflicted, and much less frequently caused by patients or colleagues. Most of these accidents happened during an attempt to remove a needle from a syringe, and much less while trying to place a used needle in a full medical waste container. In almost half of the cases (44.9%), the accidents occurred between the second and the fourth hour of the shift, which was probably due to a typically heavy workload during those hours, particularly on a morning shift. In the great majority of cases (84%), the nurses were wearing protective gloves at the time of accidents.
CONCLUSIONS: The probability of a needlestick injury in the study group per year was 28.0%. Accidents of this kind were most common in nurses working in dialysis units, emergency medical care, GP surgeries, surgical wards, and operating rooms. Occupational sharps injuries were most often caused by a contaminated injection. The injuries were self-inflicted in the vast majority of cases. The most common cause of injuries from needles was an improper handling of syringes and needles after injections (removing a needle from a syringe or placing the needle in a full container for medical waste).