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. 2009 Jul;91(5):430-2.
doi: 10.1308/003588409X432194.

Sharps injury reporting amongst surgeons

Hui-Ling Kerr  1 , Nicola Stewart, Alistair Pace, Sherief Elsayed
Affiliations

Sharps injury reporting amongst surgeons

Hui-Ling Kerr et al. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2009 Jul.

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of sharps injury reporting amongst surgeons.

Subjects and methods: A total of 164 surgeons completed a questionnaire on the reporting of sharps injuries, on the reasons for not reporting and their practise of universal precautions.

Results: Out of 164 surgeons, only 25.8% had reported all their injuries, 22.5% had reported some and 51.7% had reported none. The top three reasons for not reporting their injuries included perception of low risk of transmission, not being concerned and no time. Of the respondents, 15.9% practised all three universal precautions of double-gloving, face shields and hands-free technique.

Conclusions: We showed that despite local trust adherence to Department of Health policy, sharps injury reporting rates are inadequate. Further investment into healthcare worker education as well as a facilitation of the process of reporting may be necessary to improve reporting rates.

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