OR Safety Task Force Blog

The critical role of safety-engineered devices

We've added a new resource to this Web site. The Journal of Infection and Public Health published a review, entitled "The impact of U.S. policies to protect healthcare workers from bloodborne pathogens: The critical role of safety-engineered devices."

The summer of the report is as follows:

In the United States (U.S.), federal legislation requiring the use of safety-engineered sharp devices, along with an array of other protective measures, has played a critical role in reducing healthcare workers’ (HCWs) risk of occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens over the last 20 years. We present the history of U.S. regulatory and legislative actions regarding occupational blood exposures, and review evidence of the impact of these actions. In one large network of U.S. hospitals using the Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet) sharps injury surveillance program, overall injury rates for hollow-bore needles declined by 34%, with a 51% decline for nurses.

The U.S. experience demonstrates the effectiveness of safety-engineered devices in reducing sharps injuries, and the importance of national-level regulations (accompanied by active enforcement) in ensuring widescale availability and implementation of protective devices to decrease healthcare worker risk.

Posted By: OR Safety Task Force on 1/5/2009 2:21:00 PM

comments (0) safety devices

MA Dept. of Health Reports on Sharps Injuries in 2005

Every year, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health releases a report with a thorough examination of sharp injuries for hospital workers in a given year. The report is comprehensive, totaling the numer of sharps injuries, who sustained them, in what context, and what type of device caused the injury.

This week, they released the full finding from the Massachusetts Sharps Injury Surveillance System for 2005. Some of the highlings include:

A total of 3,265 reported 1sharps injuries occurred in 2005, with 86% of injuries sustained by hospital workers
Nurses sustained 36% of the injuries (1,188) and physicians sustained 35% (1,135)
Of injuries to physicians, half of those occurred to interns and residents
In 41% of cases, the incident occurred during use of the device, but 45% of the time during the more dangerous time after use of the device.

>> Read the full report, and let us know your reactions below.

Posted By: Timothy Foley on 12/23/2008 5:19:00 PM

comments (0) OR Safety , sharps injuries

Presenting the Evidence

We've received a copy of the ACS Statement on Sharps Safety, presenting the evidence for increased use of safety devices like blunt suture needles, double gloving and "The Neutral Zone." The evidence is pretty eye-catching. See for yourself, and tell us what you think!

ACS Statement on Sharps Safety

Posted By: OR Safety Task Force on 11/13/2008 6:09:00 PM

comments (0) double glove , neutral zone , OR Safety

My Thoughts on the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in San Francisco

As a member of the OR Safety Task Force, I recently attended the 94th Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in San Francisco. The theme was “Leading the way to Quality, Safety and Excellence,” and I came away with some strong impressions on how we can focus the work of CIR’s OR Safety Task Force

OR Safety Blog

Thoughts on how we can create a culture of safety in the OR and promote safety among all OR team members.

The critical role of safety-engineered devices

MA Dept. of Health Reports on Sharps Injuries in 2005

Presenting the Evidence

My Thoughts on the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in San Francisco

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