Incidence and reporting of sharps injuries amongst ENT surgeons

Background: Sharps injuries are a common occupational hazard amongst surgeons. Limited work has been conducted on their effects within the ENT community. Methods: A literature review was performed and a survey on sharps injuries was distributed to the entire membership of ENT-UK electronically. Results: The literature review revealed 3 studies, with 2 of them performed more than 20 years ago. A total of 323 completed questionnaires were returned (24 per cent response rate). Of the respondents, 26.6 per cent reported having experienced sharps injuries. There was no statistical difference between the occurrence of sharps injuries and the grade, length of time spent in the specialty or subspecialty of respondents. Only 33.7 per cent of afflicted clinicians reported all their injuries as per local institutional policies. No seroconversions were reported. Conclusion: The study found poor evidence on sharps injuries amongst ENT surgeons, and low reporting rates that were comparable to other studies conducted in the UK. This highlights the need for further research and increasing awareness on sharps injuries regulations within the specialty.