Sharps Injuries and Devices from Pre-Packaged Kits

Details

• Personal Author:
  Davis, Letitia ; Galligan C ; Laramie AK ; Miner CE
• Description:
  Background: Sharps injuries (SI) among healthcare workers continue to be a significant public health problem, potentially exposing workers to more than 20 bloodborne diseases. Methods: Since 2001, the MDPH Sharps Injury Surveillance System has collected data to characterize SI among hospital workers. The system has revealed the continued use of devices lacking sharps injury prevention features. In 2006, in response to hospital staff concern about injuries with devices in prepackaged kits, MDPH began collecting additional information to distinguish injuries associated with devices in kits. Results: Data on SI among hospitals workers during 2006-2010 were examined to identify injuries associated with devices in prepackaged kits. Of the 15,163 injuries reported, 20% (3,057) involved devices from prepackaged kits. A majority of these kit-related injuries (55%, 1,678) occurred with devices lacking sharps injury prevention features, most commonly IV stylets, scalpels and hypodermic needles & syringes for which devices with sharps injury prevention features are widely available. Conclusions: OSHA requires the use of devices with sharps injury prevention features, including devices in prepackaged kits. Data demonstrate that device manufacturers and kit packers continue to dispense products that place hospitals in violation of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard and MDPH regulations. Suppliers will make changes to kits upon request, creating regulation-compliant custom kits, often at a premium cost. Eleven years after revision of the BBP Standard explicitly requiring use of devices with sharps injury prevention features, suppliers should work to ensure that longstanding regulatory requirements are met with standard kits, rather than costly custom kits. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Blood-Borne Pathogens Health Personnel Hematologic Diseases Hospitals Needlestick Injuries Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Occupational Surveillance Bloodborne Pathogens Equipment Design Health Care Workers Hospital Equipment Injury Prevention Needlestick Injuries Sharps Surveillance
• Publisher:
  American Public Health Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061345
• Citation:
  APHA 140th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 27-31, 2012, San Francisco, California. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 2012 Oct; :268951
• Contact Point Address:
  Angela K. Laramie, MPH, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Surveillance Program, 250 Washington Street, 6th floor, Boston, MA, USA 02108
• Email:
  angela.laramie@state.ma.us
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  APHA 140th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 27-31, 2012, San Francisco, California
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:381f5ba32d41e6a0f5e819e9c39b8e26d7d197bc4bca4c733ae5d2c23c7f25cab310264a4c9e9cfdd1c1a6b86904ffaae624d0d046c17205d2dfa27d8878363c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224891/cdc_224891_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 166.06 KB ]