Sharps Injuries among Nurses in Massachusetts Hospitals, 2002-2004

Percutaneous injuries from medical sharps have the potential to expose healthcare workers to more than 20 diseases. Over the course of three years, 2002-2004, more than 10,000 sharps injuries were reported to the Massachusetts Sharps Injury Surveillance System at MDPH; Of these, 3,977 occurred to nurses. While nurses represent approximately 30% of the hospital workforce, they account for 40% of the sharps injuries in the hospital setting. Data from the Massachusetts Sharps Injury Surveillance System will be used to describe the distribution of injuries among nurses in Massachusetts hospitals. Hypodermic needles accounted for 45% (1,796) of all sharps injuries, followed by winged steel needles (11%, 442). Forty percent (711) of the hypodermic needles and 20% (87) of the winged steel needles lacked engineered sharps injury prevention features. Sharps injuries occurred most frequently on inpatient units (40%, 1,603) and in operating and procedure rooms (27%, 1,061). Injuries occurred most often after use (62%, 2,466) of the device, either after use and before disposal (43%, 1722) or during or after disposal (19%, 744). Findings illustrate the need for increased use of sharps devices with safety features, the need to develop alternative methods of medication delivery to minimize the need for injections, as well as improved systems for sharps disposal. Targeted prevention efforts aimed at the devices used and procedures performed by nurses will help to minimize the number of sharps injuries in a group of employees who are essential to patient care.