How needlestick injury more harmful for health workers

Last Updated on March 14, 2023 by Dr. Saqib Mueed

Needlestick injury is a more common type of injury all over the world. The health care department is in more risk of injury. It is found that 600000-800000 people are affected by needle stick injuries found in the United States every year. in most cases it goes unnoticed or unreported.  The health care department and other institutes have focused to prevent and reduce the danger of needle stick injury.

What is a needlestick injury?

Needlestick and sharp injuries the pathogens viruses bacteria transfer from one person to another person add the doctors and medical workers can also be affected with the pathogens there are approximately 0.4 million cases each year of needlestick injury.

Different diseases are primarily linked with needle stick injuries like HIV hepatitis B and C and other infectious diseases the medical students who are not well experienced mostly infected with these pathogens and get injured due to their inexperienced and not to handle the instruments show the sharp instruments like dissecting box and syringes should be handle utmost care.

And the students should take advantage of their regular instructions and practical performing classes to get well experience to handle sharp instruments and avoid these injuries. The students should be e under the observation of their instructor to the careful handling of these instruments techniques methodologies of medical study and practices Proper awareness is necessary to reduce the transmission of blood-borne pathogens.

This type of injury is occupying the whole world, it is necessary to inform you about the individual that works in the health care department. Because the worker is in more danger of needle stick injury. The students which got injured must be reported and evaluated and their training should be most strict, but the student is the worker of rural areas or not such awarded some worker and students do not report the injury due to the fair of getting fire from its job or its medical program sometime the worker or student it or not come to know the happening of injury and they do not get realized. 

Hospital people carry more diseases than other people. Different precautionary measures should be taken to avoid these injuries using sterilized instruments which should be decontaminated and disinfectant before any surgical operation or instrument handling.

The workers and students should be immunized with the different vaccine of most vulnerable viruses like HIV hepatitis A, B, and C and other microbes or pathogens the hand of the worker and the student are well protected during the oral dental surgery the patients should use disinfectant chlorhexidine the oral bleeding should we avoid as possible where protective gloves usually make up of latex mask eyewear goggles the cloth should be change before leaving the clinic are the lab disinfectant hand with alcohol usually isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol the bleeding of the patient should we clean clear fully the equipment.

After using must be kept on a tray rather than putting on anywhere if any incident takes place different medicines should we use to avoid the infection Needlestick injury is most commonly occurred in health care department of Australia.  The needle stick injury causes serious injury

Some of the pathogens are given blew.

• Human immunodeficiency virus
• Hepatitis B Virus
• Hepatitis C Virus

About 1.8 percent of people who cause HCV due to the needle stick injury. Usually, here little evidence is present to check the chance of sharp instrument injury.

Vaccination role in needlestick injury

All three are not vaccines except HBV. First of all, the chances of this type of disease are 10 times greater than the other two which are HCV and HIV. Some facts are given blew which control the vaccine.

A series made which have 3 shots from HBsAg which is administered.

For anti-HBs, after 2-3 months, the series of vaccination is conformed.

Protection may be larger sometimes it maybe 10 years. Mostly it is done.

No booster is recommended currently.

Protocol after a needle stick

Post-exposure treatment includes:

• If an injury takes place let some of the blood bleed from the ground and then cleaned well with soap and water and with Isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol.
• If the contact takes place with the mucous membrane after using the rubbing alcohol it should also be cleaned with a saline solution.
• The exposed person should be treated with HIV post-exposure procedure immunization within one hour

After 1-month different samples of blood for HIV hepatitis C hepatitis B should be collected of the exposed person for serological studies Protocol is done to decrease the threat of sharp instrument injury. Secondly, it should not be ignoring the exposure after a needle stick. If these activities are performed at a suitable time, then reduces the rate of transmission of certain infections.

The treatment after the injury depend upon the factor that whether the person was vaccinated or have developed appropriate antibodies for that virus if the vaccination has not developed any antibodies the antibodies should be given by HBIG  approximately 5 ml after 48 hours containing antibodies against hepatitis B virus if the person is exposed to Hepatitis C virus then ribavirin or pegylated interferon can be used as a treatment choice or should we consult to liver specialist our there is no such antibodies for Hepatitis C for after exposing process

If the person is exposed to HIV the infection criteria depend upon the substance which was touch or the concentration of virus on that substance exposure of HIV with blood is of little risk, but many factors are associated with the type of risk like blood contact of highly acute infection of HIV AIDS IV or IM injection contaminated with patient blood very deep injury with sharp instrument amount of blood on that instrument.

The need for treatment in injury’s

If you got injured, it the work of the healthcare department to inform you. If you are at high risk the treatment is necessary for injury. on the other hand, if you are at a low risk of injury then no specific measure should be taken. For high risk of injury following treatment are necessary which are given blew.

• Antibiotic treatment can be done if you have an infection of the skin which is called cellulitis. 
• Vaccination should be done against hepatitis B
• Preventive measure against HIV

Precautions about needle stick

Different precautionary measures should be taken to avoid these injuries

• Use sterilized instruments 
• Immunize health worker with different vaccine
• Be well protected during the oral dental surgery
• The patients should use disinfectant chlorhexidine
• Possible protective gloves used
• Use latex mask eyewear goggles
• Isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol is also necessary. ^[1] … Continue reading^[2]17_1_2011_0026_0035.pdf (who.int)^[3]Handbook: Needlestick/Sharps Safety and Prevention (ona.org)^[4]Implication of the prevalence of needlestick injuries in a general hospital in Malaysia and its risk in clinical practice (biomedcentral.com)

Reviewed by:

Dr. Shahid Bukhari

MBBS, FCPS (Medicine)

Ex. Registrar DOW Medical College Karachi

Medical Officer Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi

Our reviewers’ details, Click Here