Percutaneous exposure incidents among Australian hospital staff.
We investigated all reported Percutaneous exposure incidents (PEI) among staff from a large Australian hospital in the 3-year period, 2001-2003. There were a total of 373 PEI, of which 38.9% were needlestick injuries, 32.7% were cutaneous exposures and 28.4% sharps-related injuries. Nurses were the most commonly affected staff members, accounting for 63.5% of the total, followed by doctors (18.8%) and other staff (17.7%). Needlestick injuries were responsible for the majority of nurses' PEI (44.7%). Sharps injuries constituted the major category for doctors (44.3%). Most needlestick injuries (67.6%) were caused by hollow-bore needles, while the majority of cutaneous exposures involved blood or serum (55.8%). Most sharps injures were caused by unknown devices (35.9%) or suture needles (34.9%). Overall, our investigation suggests that PEI is a considerable burden for health care workers in Australia. Further research is now required to determine the relationships, if any, between workers who suffer PEI and those who do not.
Smith
Derek R
DR
Department of Hazard Assessment, National Institute of Industrial Health, 6-21-1 Nagao, Tama-ku, Kawasaki, Japan. smith@niih.go.jp
Leggat
Peter A
PA
Takahashi
Ken
K
D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000453:epidemiology*