Abstract:

Objectives: Percutaneous injuries (PCIs) remain a common incident among healthcare workers (HCWs) despite the introduction of safety programs. The aim of this study was to assess the PCIs, required precautions, and applications after the injuries among healthcare workers in a small general hospital. Materials and methods: We assessed the occurrence of PCIs at a General Hospital (EGH) from January 2007 to November 2010. During this period, all injury cases among HCWs were reported to the Infection Control Committee (ICC) using percutaneous injury notification form. The injury notification forms were evaluated retrospectively. Results: Totally 275 health personnel were working in our hospital, 36 healthy workers have been exposed to PCIs during this period. The incidence of PCIs was 2,9/10000 in 2007, 3,1/10000 in 2008, 3,8/10000 in 2009 and 3,9/10000 patient-days in 2010. Injured staff were recorded as, 16 nurses (44%), 12 cleaning staffs (34%), and eight (22%) doctors. The device leading to damage was most frequently the needle-channel. Ten sources (27%) were detected positive for hepatitis B virus (HBV), four (11%) for hepatitis C virus (HCV), and two (5%) for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV). No case of seroconversion has been recognized for any of the above mentioned infections. Conclusions: Percutaneous injuries remain to occur among HCWs. Since some the sources were infected, the health personnel are endangered for infections due to PCIs. The health personnel should presume that all patients are infected, and thus should work following universal precautions to avoid complications about the PCIs.

Keywords: