Burdens of blood exposure and needle stick injury for healthcare workers – Awareness is key

Introduction

Blood-borne pathogens present risks to the well-being of healthcare workers, many of whom are highly likely to come into contact with human blood. Human blood can harbour over 20 different types of bacteria, viruses and fungi, with the most common diseases spread through blood exposure being AIDS, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.1 Pathogens in blood and the diseases caused by them present challenges in the form of burdens to society. These include clinical, financial and emotional burdens, all of which are associated with adverse consequences for the health and wellbeing of both patients and healthcare systems. This article summarises some of these burdens caused due to blood exposure and needlestick injury.

Blood exposure

Exposure to blood increases the risk of acquiring bloodborne pathogens. Burdens caused by bloodborne pathogen infections can be classified as clinical, economic and emotional.

Clinical burdens happen due to healthcare workers experiencing a significant amount of blood or mucocutaneous exposures. Nurses, medical students and doctors are usually the worst affected. The average risk of seroconversion after a single percutaneous exposure to infected blood for hepatitis C is approximately 2% and for hepatitis B it is 6–60%. The average risk of seroconversion to HIV after a single percutaneous exposure to HIV-infected blood is 0.1–0.3%. 2

Although many guidelines require the use of personal protective equipment such as gloves, studies have shown that compliance among nurses, nurses aides and physicians was only 67% in 2012, even though this was an improvement from before.3

The problem is also compounded by under-reporting. Some studies show that over 52% of blood exposure incidents have not been reported as occupational accidents.4

Economic burdens are due to costs associated with incidents of blood exposure, which may be significantly increased if the exposure results in an infection requiring treatment. Blood exposure represents a significant economic burden on healthcare workers and hospitals. Healthcare workers who encounter blood exposure also experience fear, anxiety and stress at the possibility of getting infected due to seroconversion.5

Needlestick injuries

Healthcare workers also suffer from a very high rate of needlestick injury. Commonly affected populations are doctors, nurses and medical/nursing students. Studies have shown that of all occupational exposures, 35% occur among persons in training and  27% among experienced nurses.6

The percentage of health workers reporting these injuries varies between 9 and 38% and the occurrence of NSI is most frequent among employees having close clinical contact with patients or patient specimens. Under-reporting of needlestick injuries is a major problem, with 38% of the injuries not being reported to the occupational health or emergency departments.8

As in blood exposure, needlestick injuries also cause emotional burdens. Up to 12% of the doctors who suffer NSI during their training show evidence of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).8

The role of awareness

Education and awareness play a key role in reducing needlestick injuries and blood exposure. BD, a global company dedicated to Advancing the World of Health has been a very important player in spreading awareness about the safety of healthcare workers. The BD Three Step Process9 towards improving healthcare worker safety and needlestick injuries consist of the following recommendations

  1. Recognising the risk by identifying harm, assessing the risk and developing recommendations
  2. Using safety-engineered devices in conjunction with training
  3. Education and training

Healthcare worker’s safety is something that concerns us all, and a combined effort from all stakeholders is needed to reduce risks, improve outcomes and alleviate burdens.

Contact us to learn more

 

#blood exposure #clinical burdens #economic burdens #emotional burdens #healthcare workers #Needlestick injuries


References

1. https://www.europeanbiosafetynetwork.eu/eu-osha-publishes-guidance-on-risk-assessment-and-needlestick-injuries/

2. https://www.who.int/ith/ITH2009Chapter8.pdf

3. Floret N, Ali-Brandmeyer O, L’Heriteau F, et al. Sharp Decrease of Reported Occupational Blood and Body Fluid Exposures in French Hospitals, 2003-2012: Results of the French National Network Survey, AES-RAISIN. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2015;36(8):963-968.

4. Noe C. [Underreporting of blood exposure incidents: a worrying situation among nursing students]. Recherche en soins infirmiers. 2015(123):49-65.

5. Hambridge K, Nichols A, Endacott R. The impact of sharps injuries on student nurses: a systematic review. British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing). 2016;25(19):1064-1071.

6. Frijstein G, Hortensius J, Zaaijer HL. Needlestick injuries and infectious patients in a major academic medical centre from 2003 to 2010. The Netherlands journal of medicine. 2011;69(10):465-468.

7. d’Ettore G. Job stress and needlestick injuries: which targets for organizational interventions? Occup Med (Lond) 2016;66(8):678-680.

8. Naghavi SH, Shabestari O, Alcolado J. Post-traumatic stress disorder in trainee doctors with previous needlestick injuries. Occupational medicine (Oxford, England). 2013;63(4):260-265.

9. BDX HCWS Unfinished Story SR 08022018 01 EN




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