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Estimate of the Annual Number of Percutaneous Injuries Among Hospital-Based Healthcare Workers in the United States, 1997–1998

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Adelisa L. Panlilio ,
Jean G. Orelien ,
Pamela U. Srivastava ,
Janine Jagger ,
Richard D. Cohn ,
Denise M. Cardo ,
NaSH Surveillance Group  and
the EPINet Data Sharing Network
Adelisa L. Panlilio*
Affiliation:
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Jean G. Orelien
Affiliation:
Constella Group, Inc. (formerly Analytical Sciences, Inc.), Durham, North Carolina
Pamela U. Srivastava
Affiliation:
National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Janine Jagger
Affiliation:
International Health Care Worker Safety Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Richard D. Cohn
Affiliation:
Constella Group, Inc. (formerly Analytical Sciences, Inc.), Durham, North Carolina
Denise M. Cardo
Affiliation:
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
NaSH Surveillance Group
Affiliation:
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
the EPINet Data Sharing Network
Affiliation:
International Health Care Worker Safety Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
*
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MS E-68, Atlanta, GA 30333
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Abstract

Objective:

To construct a single estimate of the number of percutaneous injuries sustained annually by healthcare workers (HCWs) in the United States.

Design:

Statistical analysis.

Methods:

We combined data collected in 1997 and 1998 at 15 National Surveillance System for Health Care Workers (NaSH) hospitals and 45 Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet) hospitals. The combined data, taken as a sample of all U.S. hospitals, were adjusted for underreporting. The estimate of the number of percutaneous injuries nationwide was obtained by weighting the number of percutaneous injuries at each hospital by the number of admissions in all U.S. hospitals relative to the number of admissions at that hospital.

Results:

The estimated number of percutaneous injuries sustained annually by hospital-based HCWs was 384,325 (95% confidence interval, 311,091 to 463,922). The number of percutaneous injuries sustained by HCWs outside of the hospital setting was not estimated.

Conclusions:

Although our estimate is smaller than some previously published estimates of percutaneous injuries among HCWs, its magnitude remains a concern and emphasizes the urgent need to implement prevention strategies. In addition, improved surveillance could be used to monitor injury trends in all healthcare settings and evaluate the impact of prevention interventions.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 25 , Issue 7 , July 2004 , pp. 556 - 562
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2004

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