Sharps injuries in the operating room

Objectives

We aimed to identify who sustains needlestick and sharps injuries, under what circumstances and what actions are taken to minimize the risk and in response to intraoperative NSSIs.

Methods

The cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 on 215 operation room personnel in 14 hospitals of the Hormozgan province, Iran.

Results

Two hundred and fifty appropriate responders completed the questionnaire (86 %). Anaesthesia 59 (27.4 %) and operation room technicians 55 (25.6 %) sustained the greatest numbers of NSSIs over the past year. Awareness of local protocols was significantly worse in the residents group. The commonest reasons for noncompliance with NSSIs local protocols were not sure of the local protocols 44 (20.4 %) and prolonged operation so unable to leave operation table 37 (17.3 %).

Conclusions

A revision of the local protocol to reduce the time it takes to complete may improve compliance. Education is of paramount importance in making health care workers aware of this issue. The application of safety devices led to a reduction in NSSIs and reduces the risk of blood borne infection as well.