title: Sharp thinking.
abstract: Nurses are the healthcare professionals most at risk from neeldestick and sharps injuries, according to the latest figures from the RCN's EPINet project. During 2004, 1,990 injuries were reported from the 20 self-selecting participating sites. Nurses sustained 43 per cent of these injuries. Disposable syringes and needles were the most common equipment to cause injury. Although discouraged, 4 per cent of injuries occurred during recapping of needles. Just under a third of injuries were sustained by staff other than the original user of the sharp.
authors.affiliation: RCN Institute.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Watterson
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004209:Disposable Equipment; D004869:Equipment Safety; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012307:Risk Factors; D017751:Safety Management; D013222:State Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D017744:Medical Waste Disposal