Needle Stick and Sharp Injuries Among Healthcare Workers: A retrospective six-year study
Rami Saadeh, Khaled Khairallah, Hussein Abozeid, Lama Al Rashdan, Mahmoud A. Alfaqih, Obaidallah Alkhatatbeh
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the proportion of needle stick and sharp injuries (NSSIs) among healthcare workers at King Hussein Medical Center (KHMC), Amman, Jordan. METHODS: All NSSI reports referred from departments at KHMC to the Preventive Medicine Department between 2013-2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Proportion of NSSIs were calculated and stratified according to age, gender, job title, place and site of injury and the procedure/task during which the injury occurred. RESULTS: <0.001). The reported proportion of NSSIs was highest among nurses (39.7%) followed by cleaners (36.3%), physicians (10.4%), other workers (7.4%) and lab technicians (5.9%) during the study's six-year period. Hospital wards were the most common locations (46.1%) where injuries took place. Injuries also occurred most frequently during medical waste collection (38.2%). CONCLUSION: The proportion of NSSIs was highest among nurses and cleaners. Safety policies and training among high-risk groups should be reviewed to reduce the risk of NSSIs. Multicentre studies at a national level should be conducted to examine whether this study's findings reflect national trends.