A study of needle-stick injury incidence amongst healthcare workers and its root cause analysis in a tertiary care teaching hospital

Abstract

Background: Needle-stick injury (NSI) incidence is a major occupational hazard amongst healthcare workers (HCWs). Methods: In this retrospective study conducted amongst HCWs from October 2018 to October 2019, we aimed to know the incidence of NSI and its root cause. At the time of self-reporting of NSI, details were collected regarding mode of injury, viral markers of source and HCWs and vaccination status of HCWs. Exposed HCWs were followed up till 6 months for seroconversion. Results: A total of 47 NSIs were reported during the study period. The incidence rate per annum was 0.13. The NSI incidence was high in intensive care units (ICUs) (47%) and was commonly due to recapping needles (36.2%). Amongst 12 NSIs, sources were positive for viral markers (6 for hepatitis B virus [HBV], 5 for human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] and 1 for hepatitis C virus). Amongst four completely vaccinated HCWs exposed to HBV-positive sources, two had anti-HBV antibody titres <10 mIu/ml. No seroconversion was seen in any of the exposed HCWs during follow-up. Conclusions: The annual incidence of NSI in our hospital was 0.13 and was high in ICUs. This prompted the institution of training sessions for HCWs to reduce the NSIs.

Keywords

• antibody titre
• healthcare workers
• hepatitis b virus
• human immunodeficiency virus
• needle-stick injury
• post-exposure prophylaxis