Abstract

Objective: Healthcare workers are at risk of occupational injury in terms of infections due to hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmitted by blood and body fluids as a result of sharp injuries. In this study, it was aimed to analyze the sharp injuries registered in a second-stage hospital of a county and to determine the ratio of personal protective equipment usage.

Methods: Between 2012 and 2016, records of sharp injuries reported at Seydişehir State Hospital in Konya were analyzed retrospectively. The data were expressed in numbers and percentages.

Results: In a five-year period, sharp injuries were recorded in a total of 98 healthcare workers, with a mean age of 23.5 years. While the top three injured profession groups included nursing students (67.3%), nurses (17.3%) and cleaning personnel (8.2%), the most common reason of injury was recapping a used needle (41.9%). While 55.1% of the health personnel used personal protective equipment during the incident, 50% preferred single layer gloves. Of the source patients, serological status of 17.3% was unknown, while patients having a known serological status showed 4.1% HBsAg positivity, 2% anti-HCV positivity, and no anti-HIV positivity. HBV, HCV and HIV infection did not develop during the six-month follow-up of employees at risk. It was observed that those exposed to injury were 96.9% immune against HBV serologically.

Conclusions: Although it was satisfactory that there were not any HBV, HCV or HIV infection incidences developing after a 6-month follow-up, standard precautions should be followed to avoid sharp injuries. In case of injury, all health personnel, especially doctors, should report about the incidents, and they should be followed-up and receive prophylaxis, if necessary.