Alternate Shewhart-type statistical control charts, called "g" and "ft" charts, are developed and evaluated for monitoring the number of cases between hospital-acquired infections and other adverse events, such as heart surgery complications, catheter-related infections, surgical site infections, contaminated needle sticks, and other iatrically induced outcomes. These new charts, based on inver...

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to collect data on self-reported sharps injuries to develop best practices to reduce them. Methods. Data on sharps injuries were collected for the period of January-October 2008 using Adverse Event Notification Forms already in use at Sema Hospital. Results. On average, 0.2% of all self-reported injuries were sharps injuries averaging one injury per mon...

BACKGROUND The acquisition of needle-stick injuries (NSI) in a healthcare setting poses an occupational hazard of transmitting blood-borne pathogens from patients to healthcare workers (HCWs). The objective of this study was to systematically review the evidence about the efficacy and safety of using safety-engineered intravenous devices and safety-engineered phlebotomy devices by HCWs. METHO...

BACKGROUND Unsafe injection practices are a major public health problem and can lead to the transmission of bloodborne pathogens, including hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). METHODS The present study was conducted to determine the nature and magnitude of unsafe injection practices in healthcare facilities in Hodeidah governorate, Yemen. T...

Craniospinal penetrating foreign body (FB) injuries are interesting, but rarely observed, cases. They are important in terms of the complications that they may cause. The etiologies of craniospinal penetrating injuries and intracranial FB are also different. Though a sewing needle is more rarely seen in an intracranial FB, it may occur as atttempted infanticide or as a result of an accident esp...

STUDY OBJECTIVE Epinephrine autoinjector use for anaphylaxis is increasing. There are reports of digit injections because of incorrect autoinjector use, but no previous reports of lacerations, to our knowledge. We report complications of epinephrine autoinjector use in children and discuss features of these devices, and their instructions for use, and how these may contribute to injuries. MET...

campaigns may be exposed to bloodborne pathogens in the event of a needlestick injury. In preparation for a mass immunization campaign, information was sought to decrease the number of needle-stick injuries. A literature search revealed no information pertaining to needlestick injuries occurring during mass vaccination campaigns. Other studies discussed the difficulty in obtaining information r...

BACKGROUND Needle-stick injury (NSI) is a major occupational health and safety issue faced by healthcare professionals globally. This study was aimed to assess the frequency and factors associated with NSIs in nurses of a tertiary health care facility in Lahore, Pakistan. It also focuses on safety measures adopted by these nurses after a needle stick injury. METHODS This cross-sectional descr...

BACKGROUND Accidental percutaneous injury and acquiring blood-borne diseases are common problems among health care workers (HCWs). However, little is known about the prevalence and associated factors for needle stick injury among HCWs in Ethiopia. METHODS A cross sectional study was conducted by including 526 HCWs (physicians, nurses, laboratory technicians, midwives and others), working in t...

Despite being recognized for many years, needle stick and sharps injuries (NSSIs) continue to present a risk of occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens for health care works (HCWs). This study was conducted to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of needle stick and sharps injuries (NSSIs) among healthcare workers (HCWs), their follow-up and immunization status for hepatitis B...