F
or the longest time, we believed safer
equipment and safety procedures
were the way to prevent sharps
injuries. But after years of increased
focus on sharps safety, this hasn't
been the case. A telling statistic highlights the stark
reality: In 70% of sharps injuries among
Massachusetts hospital workers in 2008, employees
were using devices with a safety option and still got
hurt, according to the state's Massachusetts Sharps
Injury Surveillance System (MSISS). As I've studied
needlestick injury prevention in the OR, a nagging
cause kept coming up: human factors and interrup-
tions during critical moments of procedures.
When it came time to pick a research project
while I pursued my doctorate of nursing practice
degree, I knew exactly what I wanted to study.
There is nothing new in the literature available
about why safety equipment and procedures largely
haven't prevented sharps injuries. Plus, it was
clear that no one had written about how wound
closure factored into injuries. Connecting these
dots revealed a compelling story that ultimately
revealed ways to make the OR a much safer place
for staff.
Through my research, I discovered that simply
staying focused and mindful during wound closure
— as well as providing interval education to rein-
force learning — could be one of the most essential
methods to prevent needlestick injuries.
Inside an injury
Data from MSISS and the International Safety
Center reveals that an average of 40% of all sharps
injuries occur in the OR. We reported 70 sharps
injuries in our review of 2018 injuries at Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Even more
telling: 66% of these injuries happened during
1 4 • S U P P L E M E N T
T O O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • O C T O B E R 2 0 2 0
Barbara DiTullio, DNP, RN, MA, CNOR, NEA-BC | Boston
Close Out Cases With Sharps Safety in Mind
Focus on human factors to prevent
needlesticks during surgery's critical last step.
PAY ATTENTION Remind staff that wound closure is a high-risk time for sharps injuries, so they're cognizant of the potential for injury.
