Aim: Occupational exposure to blood is a
common and serious problem among health
care workers. The aim of this study was to
highlight the frequency of needlestick injuries
(NSI) at the University Hospital Frankfurt/
Main after the widespread and comprehensive
introduction of safety devices.
Methods: Two independent data collections
of reported NSI – on the one hand from the
institutional injury reports (employers’ liability
insurance association – Hesse) and on the
other hand data from an internal evaluation
system of the University Hospital – were to
provide information about the efficiency and
effectiveness of safety devices in preventing
NSI.
Results: Since the introduction of safety devices
at the University Hospital Frankfurt/
Main in the year 2006, a steady decrease of
NSI was shown in 2007 and 2008. The change
to safety devices caused costs of approximately
six Euros per year and per employee.
Conclusions: Safety devices reduce the
frequency of NSI. However, for a number of
different reasons, a 100 % prevention of NSI
cannot be achieved even by a comprehensive
conversion. Failure to activate the safety
device is probably the most frequent cause of
NSI when a safety-engineered device is used.
For this reason, training and education are
very important.
Under these conditions, passive-acting
safety devices become increasingly important.
