Abstract

Introduction: Needle stick injuries among health care workers (HCWs) have potential hazards which include risk of transmission of blood borne pathogens such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus, (HBV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). Hence, the study was done to analyze the incidence of Needle Stick Injuries (NSI) amongst them which has been reported in a tertiary health care centre. Materials and methods: This retrospective study done at IQ City Medical College and Narayana Multi-speciality Hospital, Durgapur was to analyze all NSI incidents of HCWs that were reported to the infection control team from March 2014 to October 2016. Staff were divided into subgroups of Nurses, Doctors, Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLTs) and housekeeping workers. The incidence was recorded in different subgroups. Results: Total number of needle stick injuries found was 41(5.42%) out of 757 participants. Females had higher incidence (73.17%) than males (26.83%). It was highest among age group 21-30 yrs (68.29%) followed by <20 yrs (19.51%) and >30 yrs (12.19%). Among subgroups divided, it was highest among nurses (58.54%) followed by housekeeping staff, MLTs and doctors. At working station levels, NSI was highest in wards (46.34%) followed by ICU, OT, emergency department, laboratory and others. Conclusions: The study of the burden of needle stick injuries and transmission of blood borne diseases among health care workers may be helpful in targeting improvement at the level of its morbidity.

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