Unreported needlestick rates in Turkey
Abstract:
Background: Doctors and nurses are frequently exposed to needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs) because of their work. It is estimated that NSIs are more common than the reported rates to Infection Control Committee. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and reporting rates of NSIs in our hospital.
Methods: After their consent forms were obtained for the questionnaire, 670 doctors and nurses were interviewed face-to-face by the Infection Control Committee nurse. The questionnaire consisted of 22 questions, and the answers were recorded. The questions were on demographic data and injuries. The data of NSIs, whose active surveillance was made in our hospital since 2005 and in the last 1 year were also analyzed retrospectively.
Results: A total of 119 (17%) out of 670 people who participated in the study had at least one NSIs; 43 (36%) of the 119 people were doctors, and 76 (63.9%) were nurses. The most common injuries among doctors were found in assistant doctors (60%). No statistically significant differences were detected between the doctors and nurses in terms of injury status (p=0.398). The most common injuries were found in surgical clinics, and a significant difference was detected here when compared to other clinics. The data that 20 (17%) of the 118 people who were injured by the NSIs reported the injury were obtained from the Infection Control Committee database.
Conclusion: It is seen that injuries are high in surgical clinics and assistant doctors who have high work stress and workload. There were more injuries with sharp objects than the expected rates in our hospital although the reports were made very rarely. First of all, we should determine strategies, especially education, to reduce injuries, and then remove the obstacles to unreported injuries. Activities of clinics with high reporting rates needs to be search and adapt them to our clinic.
Reference:
Korkmaz N, Çiçek Şentürk G, Tekin A, Gürbüz Y, Sevinç G, Tütüncü EE, Şencan İ. Rates of Underreported Needlestick and Sharps Injuries among Healthcare Workers in Turkey; in the Light of Infection Control Committee Data. Int J Qual Health Care. 2022 Mar 14:mzac012. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzac012. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35285914.