Needle Sticks Injuries among Health Care Professionals in Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: A needle stick injury (NSI) is a percutaneous piercing wound typically set by a needle point, but possibly also by other sharp instruments or objects commonly encountered by Health Care Professionals (HCP). This is a serious issue of occupational hazard because of the risk to transmitting blood-borne diseases like Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Hence, the study was conducted to find out the prevalence of NSI among laboratory and nursing staff (HCP).

Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study from 400 Health Care Professionals was investigated by census sampling. A set of self administered questionnaire was used to collect data in the setting of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH). The data analysis was done in SPSS program with descriptive statistics.

Results: The prevalence of needle stick injury (NSI) was 251(80%). Regarding knowledge response, 193(63%) said needles should not be recapped, 181(58.68%) said gloves should be used for injection all the times, 286 (91%) said HBV, HCV and HIV are transmitted by NSI, 154(50%) mentioned that HBV is a fast transmitting disease. Actions taken for NSI were as follows: 216(75%) washed injured site immediately, only 82(29.5%) said immediately report to authority and 150(54.50%) did nothing after NSI. The common device causing NSI was the syringe and needle 209(73.1%). 291(93.3%) said that they disposed used sharp needles in puncture proof bucket.

Conclusion: NSI is common among HCP in TUTH with 80% prevalence rate. So the health hazards of NSI should be well addressed like transmission of blood borne disease e.g. HIV, HBV and HCV. Preventive measures should be taken to minimize the health hazards to  professionals in health care settings.