Analysis of needle-stick/percutaneous incidents at Tufts school of dental medicine from 1993 to 2000

Objectives: To conduct a retrospective analysis of the occurrence of needle-stick percutaneous incidents over an eight year period. Methods: Data was obtained from the evaluation of the "Needle stick incidents reports" from 1993 to 2000. The population evaluated consisted of students, faculty and staff. Data was collected in the following areas of interest: 1. number of injuries that occur at TUSDM per calendar year; 2.frequency of injuries by month; 3.number of injuries reported by students, faculty and staff; 4.types of the percutaneous injuries. Results: This retrospective study of the annual occurrence of percutaneous injuries during the last eight years revealed erratic numbers of reported injuries in the period from 1993 to 1996. We found low levels of reported injuries in 1993 and 1994 and much higher numbers in 1995 and 1996. In addition, there has been a steady decrease in this number in the period from 1997 to 2000. Furthermore, needle stick injuries were the most frequently reported type of injury, while other common injuries included sticks with dental instruments or burs and scalpel blade injuries. The study also indicated that students rather than dental faculty and staff members suffered the majority of reported injuries. Highest occurrence of the reported injuries is in the months just before the three major vacation times. The three peaks fall on the months of March, June and November respectively right before Christmas break, spring break and summer break. Conclusions: These results reveal the need to continually reinforce the needle-stick/percutaneous injury management guidelines, as well as the importance of further educating dental students about the means to decrease the risks of occupational blood exposure. Based on the results, several strategies are suggested that can be practically used to decrease the peaks in the numbers of the needle stick/percutaneous injuries.