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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.
Jayaprada et al. (Fri,) studied this question.