This letter responds to your request for an examination of the potential benefits and costs of changes that would be mandated under the proposed Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act (HR 1899), which would require the use of needles with safety features. Percutaneous injuries caused by needlesticks (puncturing of the skin by a needle or similar sharp object) are a serious concern for th...

BACKGROUND Healthcare workers face the risk of acquiring blood-borne infections from patients through needle stick injuries. Understanding the factors that are associated with increased risk, for example, the role of the dominant hand, is important so that preventive measures can be focused. METHODS The EPINet (Exposure Prevention, Information Network--a trade mark of Virginia University) que...

BMJf 1991;302:769-70 The use of needles is an essential part of providing medical care but is potentially hazardous to staff. Awareness of hazards, use of the correct equipment, and a consistent and careful technique are all of great importance in preventing needlestick injuries. To date 13 cases of occupationally contracted AIDS caused by needlestick injuries with hollow bore needles have been...

BACKGROUND Needlestick injuries (NSIs) are a common occupational hazard with potential physical health effects, including viral infections such as hepatitis and HIV. Less appreciated are the psychiatric consequences of NSIs, potentially including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adjustment disorder (AD). AIMS To study psychiatric consequences of NSIs by diagnosis, duration and severi...

OBJECTIVE To assess the occupational exposure to needlestick and sharps injuries and hepatitis B vaccination status among dental auxiliaries. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A descriptive cross-sectional survey of 83 dental auxiliaries was conducted that included 12 technologists, 11 therapists, 53 nurses/surgical assistants, and 7 record officers. The survey included demography, history of needlestick ...

Results: A total of 435 HCWs completed the questionnaire. 1. A total of 46.7% of respondents had suffered from either needlestick/sharps injury (74.47%) or contamination of skin/mucous membranes (25.53%). 2. A total of 76.9% of all needlestick/sharps injuries were inflicted by injection needles. 3. Taking blood was the most dangerous procedure/activity: it was responsible for 29.56% of all inju...

the burden of exposure to blood-borne pathogens (such as hepatitis b and c viruses) is considerable for health care workers. hepatitis virus transmission requires a non-immune host, an infectious source, and skin or mucous membrane injury. these three aspects are the main fields for preventional interventions. we reviewed major recent studies on this topic to identify precautions health care wo...

1878 Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 10, No. 10, October 2004 from randomized controlled trials are lacking. All of our patients had been previously healthy, with no coexisting conditions identified as poor prognostic risk factors (2,10). These three cases, together with the case of Wong et al. (1), suggested that at least a subset of SARS adult patients can have a relativ...

aim: injury from needle is one of the main ways of transmitting blood diseases in the medical staff. prevention and reduction of such diseases' side effects have been emphasized by the health ministry. this study aimed to investigate factors influencing the behavior of the elam city medical staff when working with sharps instruments. methods: in a cross-sectional study, using a census method, a...