Henry K, Campbell S, et al.
Minnesota medicine. Date of publication 1995 Nov 1;volume 78(11):41-4.
1. Minn Med. 1995 Nov;78(11):41-4.
Needlestick/sharps injuries and HIV exposure among health care workers. National
estimates based on a survey of U.S. hospitals.
Henry K(1), Campbell S.
Author information:
(1)HIV/AIDS Clinic and Programs, Health-Partners St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center,
USA.
Exposure to HIV in the workplace is a major concern for health care workers. The
greatest risk for bloodborne pathogen transmission is associated with
percutaneous injuries involving hollow-bore needles contaminated with patient
blood. Limited data are available about how many sharps injuries (SIs) and
needlesticks (NSs) occur in the United States, with estimates ranging from
100,000 to 1 million injuries per year. We conducted a survey of 100 infection
control practitioners located at randomly selected U.S. hospitals to assess the
number of SIs or NSs occurring during 1990; 65 (65%) responded. The mean number
of NS/SIs reported was 45, with a mean of 1.1 known HIV-related NS/SIs. The
underreporting rate was estimated to be 18.5%. Assuming that the hospitals
provided exact numbers of injuries and were representative of the approximately
5,100 U.S. hospitals, then about 252,000 NS/SIs were reported in U.S. hospitals
in 1990 (95% CI = 193,000-312,000). If the under-reporting rate was 33% to 66%,
then the point estimate for the total number of NS/SIs ranges from 378,000 to
756,000. Similar extrapolation involving the reported number of NS/SIs
contaminated with blood from an HIV-infected patient yields an estimate of 5,610
exposures in 1990 (95% CI = 1,300-8,300). The number of U.S. hospital workers
sustaining NS/SIs with potential exposure to HIV appears to be considerable.
Efforts to reduce the risk of bloodborne pathogen transmission from NS/SIs are
warranted.
PMID: 8531904 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
