Recapping Contaminated Needles

Nurses Safety

Published

  1. Do you recap contaminated needles using the one-handed scoop method?

    • 6
      No. I never recap a contaminated needle.
    • 3
      Yes, I recap contaminated needles using the one-handed scoop method only as a LAST resort.
    • 0
      Yes, I recap contaminated needles using the one-handed scoop method in any situation.
    • 1
      I recap contaminated needles using other methods only as a last resort.
    • 0
      I recap contaminated needles using other methods in any situation.

  2. My nursing program taught that recapping contaminated needles using the one-handed scoop method is:

    • 9
      not an option. They taught us to NEVER recap a contaminated needle.
    • 1
      appropriate as a LAST resort method only.
    • 0
      appropriate as a common and approved nursing practice.

10 members have participated

Specializes in Research.

The facility I work at is requiring us to inject any unused Botox solution from the syringe back into the vial so that it can be transported to another building to be put in their hazardous medication boxes (black boxes). We are told this is being done because it costs the facility extra for the hazardous waste courier to stop by our clinic. Our provider uses 1mL syringes with 30g needles to inject the Botox into our migraine patients. When trying to re-insert the 30g (dirty) needle into the rubber stopper, we found that the needles bent. We talked with our nurse educators and infection prevention nurses about how we thought this was unsafe. They recommended that we use the one-handed scoop method to recap the contaminated needle and then apply a clean larger gauge needle to inject the unused Botox into the vials. They told us that using the one-handed scoop method to recap a contaminated needle was a common and appropriate nursing practice and that this was taught in nursing programs all over.  I would like to know your thoughts on this. I was also told that our facility does not have to abide by OSHA standards regarding this because of the small size of our facility. Please complete the following poll so I can have feedback to share with my facility. Thank you!

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