Needle stick injury reporting among surgeons in tertiary hospitals of Lahore

Abstract

Background: Needle stick injuries have a fairly common incidence in surgical practice exposing surgeons to an array of transmissible diseases. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of needle stick injury, and their reporting among surgeons in tertiary hospital setting. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Various tertiary care hospital of Lahore. Period: January 2016 through April, 2016. Methods: Our sample size was 935 Surgeons. We determined the prevalence of needle stick injuries, reporting of NSI, the reasons for not reporting and the reasons for acquired injuries. Results: Needle stick injury was reported by only 85 (9.1%) participants. The reasons for not reporting varied; 363 (38.8%) did not report due to unawareness of the existence of a relevant system, 250 (26.7%) did not know whom to report, 86 (9.2%) were not able to spare time to report, 81 (8.7%) were afraid of results, 48 (5.1%) thought that patient was low risk and 107 (11.4%) did not bother. Conclusion: There was a lack of hospital policy to cater to the reporting of injuries sustained during surgical practice. A dire need for a system was observed to educate the healthcare workers and provide a medium to assist the process of reporting.