Implication of the prevalence of needlestick injuries in a general hospital in Malaysia and its risk in clinical practice

Objectives  To determine the prevalence of cases and episodes of needlestick injury among three groups of health care workers in the past one-year, the level of knowledge on blood-borne diseases and universal precautions and the practice of universal precautions. Other factors associated with the occurrence of needlestick injuries and the reporting of needlestick injuries were also analysed. Methods  A cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2003 to study the needlestick injuries among 285 health care workers (doctors, nurses, medical students) in a public teaching hospital in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Results  The prevalence of needlestick injuries among the respondents was 24.6% involving 71 cases i.e. 48.0% among doctors, 22.4% among medical students, and 18.7% among nurses and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). There were a total of 174 episodes of needlestick injury. Prevalence of episode of needlestick injuries was highest among doctors (146%), followed by nurses (50.7%) and medical students (29.4%). Cases of needlestick injuries attained lower scores on practice of universal precautions compared to non-cases (p<0.001). About 59% of cases of needlestick injury did not report their injuries. Conclusions  The study showed that needlestick injuries pose a high risk to health care workers and it is underreported most of the time. Many needlestick injuries can be prevented by strictly following the practice of universal precautions.