Use of Blunt-Tip Suture Needles to Decrease Percutaneous Injuries to Surgical Personnel (Superseded)

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health ; Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• Description:
  This document has been superseded and the new version can be found here. The purpose of this Safety and Health Information Bulletin is: 1. To describe the hazard of sharp-tip suture needles as a source of percutaneous injuries to surgical personnel; 2. To present evidence of the effectiveness of blunt-tip suture needles in decreasing percutaneous injuries to surgical personnel, particularly when used to suture muscle and fascia; and 3. To emphasize OSHA's requirement to use safer medical devices - in this case, blunt-tip suture needles - where clinically appropriate. Conclusion: OSHA and NIOSH strongly encourage the use of blunt-tip suture needles, whenever feasible and appropriate, to decrease percutaneous injuries to surgical personnel. Clinical use and scientific studies have established the effectiveness of blunt tip suture needles in decreasing the risk of percutaneous injuries. Employers in workplaces that use suture needles have the responsibility under the Bloodborne Pathogens standard to evaluate the use of blunt-tip suture needles as well as other appropriate safer medical devices. After this evaluation, which must include input from nonmanagerial employees responsible for direct patient care [29 CFR 1910.1030(c)(1)(v)] - e.g., in this case surgical personnel - employers must use safer devices to replace corresponding conventional sharp-tip suture needles in their workplaces when clinically appropriate. The introduction of any device must include training of staff in its proper use and follow-up to ensure a successful transition from conventional to safer devices. Where an employer has determined that the use of available safer devices is not feasible, the clinical justification for this determination must be documented in the facility's Exposure Control Plan and the employer must implement alternative means of protecting surgical personnel from percutaneous injuries. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Blood Blood-Borne Pathogens Engineering Health Personnel Hematologic Diseases Needlestick Injuries Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-prevention Bloodborne-pathogens Control-technology Engineering-controls Health-care-personnel Injury-prevention Needlestick-injuries Nurses Physicians Surgeons Surveillance-programs

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• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2007132
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Guidance
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031813
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2007-107923
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2008-132, 2007 Mar; :1-4
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6f227d226d5c736fdca42c535da76717c441d227a67c02def5df0e97bed786afff1bc16553d31b4ff3b2701006fdde2616e9a215cb1ed012de2f732c5bd88095
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209892/cdc_209892_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 540.15 KB ]