title: Do active safety-needle devices cause spatter contamination?
abstract: Exposure to blood and body fluids is an occupational hazard in healthcare. Although the potential for blood-borne virus transmission through needlestick injury has been widely studied, the risk of this occurring through spatter contamination from safety-needle syringes is not well understood. This report examines this risk from three commonly used safety needles and suggests that this presents a new and significant hazard. Further work should be commissioned to quantify this hazard and determine which type of safety needle would minimize spatter contamination following syringe discharge and safety activation.
authors.affiliation: Health and Safety Laboratory, Buxton, Derbyshire, UK. Electronic address: martin.roff@hsl.gsi.gov.uk.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roff
authors.affiliation: Occupational Health Department, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Basu
authors.affiliation: Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick (DMNB), Saint John, Canada.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adisesh
mesh_terms: D017848:Blood-Borne Pathogens / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D009339:Needles / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000821:virology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D018570:Risk Assessment
keywords: Blood-borne virus; Needlestick injury; Occupational health; Safety needles