STUDY OF PREVALENCE AND RESPONSE TO NEEDLE STICK INJURIES AMONG HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN HYDERABAD, INDIA

BACKGROUND: Because of the environment in which they work, many health care workers are at risk of accidental needle stick injuries (NSI). OBJECTIVES: To study prevalence and response to needle stick injuries among health care workers. METERIALS AND METHODS:STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: A tertiary care hospital in Hyderabad. PARTICIPENTS: 400, senior residents, junior residents, interns, undergraduate medical students, staff and student nurses and staff and student laboratory technicians. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: proportions and chi-square test. RESULTS: The commonest clinical activity to cause the NSI was blood withdrawal (55%), followed by suturing (20.3%) and vaccination (11.7%). The practice of recapping needles after use was still prevalent among HCWs (66.3%). Some HCWs also revealed that they bent the needles before discarding (11.4%). It was alarming to note that only 40 per cent of the HCWs knew about the availability of PEP services in the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of NSI was found to be quite common. Avoidable practices like recapping of needles were contributing to the injuries. Prevention of NSI is an integral part of prevention programs in the work place, and training of HCWs regarding safety practices indispensably needs to be an ongoing activity at a hospital.