Needle Stick Injuries

Health care workers are at risk of being exposed to blood-borne pathogens through needle-stick and other sharp object injuries. The pathogens of primary concern are the human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus. When a needle-stick injury occurs, workers report the incident to their supervisor. This information is forwarded to county health departments and ultimately to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A CDC researcher used these data to compare needle-stick injuries in community hospitals and tertiary-care hospitals. Is this a paired or independent comparison? Explain your answer.

Germs and many other diseases spread primarily through airborne particles, skin to skin contact, and or touching objects such as door handles, hospital buttons, or by sharing patient possessions. Nurses and other health care clinicians are constantly in physical contact with many different patients, who all have varying illness’ and diseases themselves. Many may also carry a

Blood-borne infections are not spread by respiratory droplets, so the use of masks is not necessary.

The standard precautions are implemented at all times to decrease the risk of transmitting infectious agents. Assuming that all patients could carry an infection, this minimises the potential spread of HAI’s. These standard precautions include routine hand hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment, safe handling and disposure of sharps and routine environmental cleaning.4,5 In this situation, where blood is present, this is considered a biohazard. Hand hygiene must be performed before touching the patient, before and after any procedures or exposure to bodily substances and after touching the patient or any of the patient’s surroundings. The use of Personal protective equipment should be used when attending to the patient. This includes protective eye wear, a surgical mask and an apron for protection from any splashes or sprays of blood generated by the patient. Gloves should also be worn for single use only when coming in contact with open skin and bodily fluids. To minimise the spread of blood, the bystander with visibly soiled hands should also be advised to thoroughly clean them with soap and

Sharps injuries (mainly needlestick), carry the risk of serious infections. Healthcare providers are exposed to these dangerous and prospectively life-threatening infections. Ideally, most needlestick injuries together with other sharps injuries remain preventable. Sharps injuries remain an important area of study since it affects a large number of healthcare providers. For instance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 385,000 needlesticks injuries take place yearly and hospital-based

Compared to other members of the community of health care nurses are at a significant risk of needle stick injury because of their frequent performance with vein punctures and taking care of patients suffering from different infectious diseases. Needles may cause injury to you or to someone else if they were not properly discarded after use and can also cause an injury if you do not use gloves to protect your hands while you work with needles. If a medical professional gets stuck by a needle, then they need to wash the area thoroughly with soap and contact their healthcare provider as soon as

Gloves, goggles, masks and gowns are minimum recommended requirements of PPE in any clinical environment where contact with blood or bodily fluid is likely (HSE 2011). Although wearing gloves does not prevent injury. It minimises exposure and cross contamination, reducing the risk of infection (AFPP 2011). The healthcare professional in the diary decided not to wear gloves because they catch on her rings and tear. This suggests that the rings have jagged edges or stones, which potentially could cause injury to the patient and also pose as an infection risk. Professional guidelines also dictate that staff should be bare below the

Stethoscope is one of the most commonly used medical devices on a clinical setting, the environment of which is often represented a potential vector for hospital acquired infections. Scholars highlights that the sterilization of invasive equipments and the disinfection of any kind of devices before the interventions are generally ignored (Kilic et al., 2011). Among those devices, stethoscope is the widely-used equipment with the most possibility of contamination of transmitted organism. Researchers emphasize that the increasing proliferation of infection required diligent hygiene of both hands and instruments between patients to reduce hospital acquired infections (Shaw and Cooper, 2014). Therefore, a survey is being conducted with a brief nurse-directed questionnaire to review perceived reasons for stethoscope antisepsis non-compliance and stethoscope antisepsis compliance. The purpose of this project is to improve compliance with stethoscope care before and after patient contact on the Acute Medical and Progressive Care Unit (D6/5) at University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. The following

One the main roles healthcare workers (HCWs) can do is to provide patients with a safe environment whilst they are in the healthcare setting. In providing clinical safety to patients HCWs are ensuring that the patient will be safe from preventable adverse events occurring to them whilst they are in the hospital setting. Patient safety should be a of high priority to the healthcare setting and HCWs. Nursing staff are the main providers of care to patients whilst in the healthcare setting and have many responsibilities in delivering safe patient care. Whilst in the healthcare setting patients are vulnerable and at the hand of healthcare workers, thus it is extremely important for healthcare workers to maintain hand hygiene. To maintain a

Each year, 385,000 needlestick injuries and other sharps related injuries are sustained by hospital based healthcare professionals; which equates to an average of almost 1,000 sharps injuries per day in the U.S. Accidental needlestick and sharps not only cause injuries, but they also carry a major risk for transmission of blood borne infections. Although virtually all healthcare workers are at risk of harm from occupational exposures such as these, the Center for Disease Control notes that nurses sustain approximately half of all needlestick injuries. While there are several precautions and regulations implemented on the administration and disposal of sharps, many

Sharps injuries (mainly needlestick), carry the risk of serious infections. Healthcare providers are exposed to dangerous and potentially life-threatening infections. Most needlestick injuries together with other sharps injuries remain largely preventable. Sharps injuries remain an important area of study since it affects a large number of healthcare providers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 385,000 needlesticks injuries occur yearly in hospital-based environment’s (Wilburn, 2004). The utilization of an apparatus with safety made protective attributes, mandated in the United States in year 2000 has been led to decreased rates of needlestick injuries (Battles, Keyes & Grady, 2008). However, Australia remains the only nation with well developed infection prevention and control systems

Contaminated reusable sharps must be placed in containers that are puncture resistant and label or color coded and leak proof on side and bottom. Reusable sharps that are contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious materials must not be stored or process in a manner that requires employees to reached by hand into the containers. Infection can be air-borne: coughing and sneezing. Contaminated objects, skin-to-skin contact: touch, sharing personal items, and clothing or objects. Contact with body fluids: saliva, urine, faces or blood. In addition, addressing factors related to the spread of infections within healthcare setting by needing hand hygiene: washing hands before and after effectively. Sterilization; intending to kill all microorganisms. Cleaning to prevent from occurring infections. Disinfection uses liquid chemicals on surfaces and at rooms temperature to kill disease causing

Every day while caring for patients, health care workers risk exposure to infectious diseases, especially bloodborne viruses due to accidental punctures with needlesticks and sharps. Preventable injuries caused by percutaneous puncture wounds with sharp objects contaminated with bloodborne pathogens are all too common in the hospital environment. Many healthcare workers simply accept these risks as part of their job (Wilburn, S., 2004). Needlestick and sharp injuries (NSIs) present major potential problems for hospital workers who come into regular contact with needles, workers such as nursing staff, lab workers, physicians, and housekeepers who work where sharps are typically present. Misapplication of needles, scalpels, lancets, broken glass, or other medical instruments only heighten this risk. Exposed individuals are at serious risk of contracting infectious diseases such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which are transmitted through blood pathogens from contaminated needles or sharp devices (Cho, E. & others, 2013).

In any occupational environment, regardless of location and setting, employees will always be exposed some type of hazards or risk. Some hazards might small while others might be large and life threaten and the proper the precaution needs to be taking while facing or handling hazards materials. In any medical facilities around the country, the exposures to physical or chemical hazards are extremely high. Hospitals and medical facilities are traditionally risky environment to work in. Experience working in a clinic and hospital setting has proven that injury rates at medical facilities are higher than most other occupational settings. Slips, trips, and falls

If you are a health worker, always wear protective gloves in situations that involve exposure to blood or other body fluids.