A study of needle stick injuries among medical undergraduates.
A study was conducted to determine the incidence and causes of needlestick injuries among 158 medical undergraduates who had completed their first clinical year. A response rate of 97.5% (154 out of 158 students) was obtained, of which 54 students (35.1%) reported at least one needlestick injury. The commonest cause of injury was during the process of venepuncture (27%), followed by uncapping of needles (22.2%) and recapping of used needles (19.8%). The highest incidence of injury occurred during a medical posting (33/154 students), followed by surgical posting (14/154 students) and elementary clinics (9/154 students). Formal training on handling of used needles was reported by only 15-23% of the students in the various postings. The awareness of risk of contracting diseases from needlestick injuries was high (84.4%).
Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine, National University of Singapore.
H P
HP
Chia
D
D
Koh
J
J
Jeyaratnam
D001815:Bloodletting / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D009339:Needles / Q000009:adverse effects; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data