Background to accidental Needlestick Injury
Needlestick injuries are among the most common accidents reported by healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses and non-clinical staff. This is particularly worrying because hospital workers who are pricked with a needle may be at risk of contracting viruses that are carried in the bloodstream. There is an increasing awareness of the potential danger of infections and illnesses to healthcare workers that result from accidental needle-stick injury and of the need for safer needle devices to reduce the number of such accidents.
The risk also depends on what type of needle is being used. Hypodermic and butterfly needles cause the most number of needlestick injuries. Hypodermic needles are hollow and are used with a syringe to inject substances into the body. Butterfly needles are small needles that are used to access small or fragile veins or arteries in young or elderly patients. These needles have two wings which hold the needle in place, and flexible tubing to minimize the risk of damage if the patient moves during the procedure.
Needles for hypodermic syringes, phlebotomy sets, intravenous catheters, safety steel needles and specialty medical needles are necessary to inject drugs and other fluids into the body and for drawing blood and other fluids from the body. Hypodermic needles are used for the injection of drugs. Phlebotomy sets are used for the drawing of blood. Catheters, butterfly needles and specialty needles are used for access to patient vessels.
The US healthcare system – the largest
in the world
The healthcare industry is a large and growing industry. Healthcare worker safety is and will remain a high priority, high profile issue. Healthcare workers in the U.S. use approximately eight billion needles each year, and before the introduction of “safe” devices, suffered an estimated 800,000 injuries from accidental needle-sticks and other sharps annually. Many more healthcare workers worldwide receive needle-stick injuries per year. Diseases that can be acquired from such accidents include HIV/AIDS, HBV, HCV, diphtheria, gonorrhea, typhus, herpes simplex virus, malaria, syphilis and tuberculosis. The most serious of these include HIV and Hepatitis C.
Over the past decade, particularly in the USA, efforts have been made to reduce the rate of Needlestick injuries Despite this, the rate of Needlestick injuries remains unacceptably high. The United States introduced proactive measures in the attempt to reduce the incidence of needle-stick injury by passing specific legislation through the Congress in 2001. This legislation requires companies to purchase and implement the use of alternative, safer medical devices. Similar legislation has been enacted in Spain, Nigeria, and in most provinces of Canada. Other countries, such as Germany, UK, France, Italy, and Australia are increasing efforts to protect their healthcare workers in a similar manner.
Costs of Needlestick injury
Testing and treatment of needle-stick injuries costs the U.S. healthcare system between $750 million and $1 billion each year. The average cost of treating a needle-stick injury not resulting in the transmission of a disease is between $450 and $800 per incident, which only considers the direct costs associated with HIV, HBV (hepatitis B) and HCV (hepatitis C) screens and employee lost time. According to the American Hospital Association, a single case of serious blood-borne pathogen infection can cost more than $1 million in expenses for follow-up testing, lost work time and disability payments.
In Australia
On average, an Needlestick Injury occurs once every two days in Australian hospitals. This figure is quite alarming and suggests that more needs to be done to reduce the rate of Needlestick Injuries. It is possible that the rate is actually much higher, but many accidents go unreported because people may not think it's serious enough to bother.
Safe injecting rooms were introduced in Australia in 2001 as part of a harm minimization strategy to reduce the rates of HIV and Hepatitis C in illicit drug users. Due to intense public health campaigns in Australia, many people believe that HIV poses the highest risk to hospital staff who have a Needlestick Injury. In fact, Hepatitis C is more of a concern because it is more common among patients, particularly those receiving renal dialysis.
Normal preventative measures have failed to reduce the number of Needlestick Injuries to an acceptable level.
Retracting needles eliminate the risk of an Needlestick Injury because the needle automatically retracts into the barrel of the syringe. A plunger at the end of the needle must be pushed to engage the safety mechanism, and then pulled back to retract the needle inside.
After conducting a study at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, researchers concluded that 62% of the Needlestick Injuries could be prevented by using retracting needles. Replacing butterfly needles would further reduce the risk by 10%.
Evidence suggests that retractable needles would be a cost effective solution to the issue of Needlestick Injuries. Generally, needles with safety features cost more than conventional ones. However, hospitals would have significant savings due to less staff time require, less equipment needed and less administration time involved. There would also be substantial non-financial benefits such as lower anxiety amongst staff.
A technological approach to preventing Needlestick Injuries in healthcare workers offers the most promise. Recent studies should that widespread use of retractable needles, needle-free IV systems and safety cannulae would prevent a significant number of Needlestick Injuries. This in turn would reduce the associated risks of Blood Borne Viruses, including HCV and HIV. The health and safety of Australian hospital workers needs to be the number one priority. These new devices from Medigard would help make hospitals a safer environment for healthcare workers and should be introduced as soon as possible.