title: Sharps injury reduction using Sharpsmart--a reusable sharps management system.
abstract: Sharps containers are associated with 11-13% of total sharps injuries (SI) yet have received little attention as a means of SI reduction. A newly developed reusable sharps containment system (Sharpsmart) was trialed in eight hospitals in three countries. The system was associated with an 86.8% reduction of container-related SI (CRSI) (P=0.012), a 25.7% reduction in non-CRSI (P=0.003), and a 32.6% reduction in total SI (P=0.002) compared with historical data. The study concludes that the Sharpsmart system is an effective engineered control in reducing SI.
authors.affiliation: The Daniels Corporation International Ltd, Dandenong, Australia 3175. terry@daniels.com.au
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grimmond
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rings
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Creech
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kampen
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kable
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mead
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mackie
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pandur
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009339:Needles / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010564:Personnel, Hospital
chemical_list: D017744:Medical Waste Disposal