How Common are Needle Sticks

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Sep 28, 2002

I think that based on the number of sticks per nurse in our hospital everyone will get stuck by the time they spend 10 years in nursing. However, as time goes by they are making it harder to get stuck with special automatic caps on the used needles etc, so that number will likely go down. Whenever I've been stuck I've been stressed and in a hurry, so being aware of yourself when you have a dirty needle in hand is probably the best preventative.

NicuGal, MSN, RN · Sep 28, 2002

I have never stuck myself in 16 years! But there are a few people in my unit that seem attracted to getting stuck. Our #26 gauges aren't sheathed and we use lots of butterflies for art sticks, so those are our biggest offenders!

oldgirl, RN · Sep 28, 2002

Twice, but with clean needles both times. Are any of you using the retractable catheters for IV's. Took awhile to get used to, but now I like them.

MollyMo · Sep 28, 2002

Almost 12 years of nursing and have been very blessed not to have been stuck by clean or dirty needles.

Youda · Sep 28, 2002

Once when I was doing a vaccination on a little girl. She was misbehaving, jumping around, generally hyper. (Mother just let her). So when I stuck her, she immediately jumped up in the air, more playing around. Needle went into my hand.

I had an almost-stick when some lame brain doing glucose tests, dropped the contaminated lancets into the carrying case for the monitor, along with all the bloody strips. I guess she couldn't be bothered with a sharps container. Happily, I noticed the lancets, so I didn't get stuck. But, I raised holy heck. I refused to use that monitor, and told everyone that whoever did it had better clean up the mess, because I would NOT! And that I didn't appreciate some IDIOT putting me at risk because of laziness and stupidity! The next day when I came back to work, someone had taken the sharps out out of the carrying case. The next week, admin got us those little buttons with the retractable lancet. It's good raise hell every now and then. :)

RENAISSANCE RN · Sep 28, 2002

Thanks for all the information. It seems that it does happen but it is becoming less common with all of the new safety procedures?

Is that a correct interpretation?:)

NicuGal, MSN, RN · Sep 28, 2002

We use the retractables for the 24 gauges...they were hard to get used to, the flashback is so slow!

You also need to keep in mind that there are other sharps out there...scapels, LP needles and things like that, suture sets. Carelessness of others is a biggy in getting a stick!

jamistlc · Sep 28, 2002

Greetings,

I have not had a needle stick per say, mine was a scapel! I use to work in the OR as a Donor Tissue Retrevial Tech. when we worked it is very bloody and even brutal as we removed bones from cadavears muscle andother tissues. I was working blindly to remove a pelvis and had the scapel graze my finger tip. I HAD BLOOD TO BLOOD contact! I went through the blood tests and all that, I was fortunate everything was negative besides the donor was in a low risk group for HIV (lesbian). As you all know though HIV is not the major pathogen for me to have been worrying about, Hepattitis is much more of a risk in that situation than HIV!

Oh, I will say that we took all types of precautions against this from happening. We wore the mail lined gloves in between 2 sets of latex gloves, but stuff still happens, especially when you can not feel your finger tips nor see them LOL! We also wore a MK4 suit (a self contained space suit head to toe, is the best way to describe it) which lessons your ability to respond to your senses as they are masked by the sound of the hum of the fan. So with all this technology there comes pluses, deficits, and adjustments in procedures. My incident was ruled my fault but as I said I was in a pelvic cavity where one slip contaminates the field and everything is lost, when you are working with a donation that comes few and far between you guard that field even if it means putting yourself in harms way. Of course when I cut myself the field became contaminated but not as bad as if it was fecal material from the bowels. So I quess its a matter of which is worse in that situation. I do however pull those gloves alot tighter when I put then one from that point, (no pun intended).

sjoe · Sep 29, 2002

Future: if you are looking for statistics, try "needlestick injuries" on google.

CaliNurse · Sep 29, 2002

12 years in nursing and counting. I really don't consider this a needlestick but technically it is. I was piercing a procardia to administer SL and the capsule was so old and hard I really had to push hard to get it through the first wall of the capsule. Well I got it through and through the second side of the capsule and through my finger. I didn't even feel it. What I did feel is the needle stop at the inner side of my fingernail. Yes, I did go through my finger. So, when it comes to an exposure, No I have not been exposed. I am very careful with IM's. Once I inject I tell them ok, hold still for a second. My first step is to drop that syringe into the sharps container. Then I get them back to where there were prior to injection. The other sharp that has been an offender at times are disposable shavers. We did have one nurse reach into a bath basin to have her finger cut by a razor. Lots of education to everyone and razors are disposed of now after each use.

Cali

ERNurse752, RN · Sep 29, 2002

http://www.needlestick.org

I've been stuck a couple times by clean needles...usually when I've been recapping a filter needle after drawing up from an ampule...have been wounded by an ampule as well.

We give a lot of IM injections, draw a lot of bloods, and start a lot of IV's, so needlesticks are something I think about constantly!

There is a big hospital system near me who has not yet gone needleless...I would like to work there someday, but not until they switch to a new system. Needlesticks are their #1 worker's comp claim every year...grrrrr...