Abstract
Background
Sharps injuries occur often among surgical staff, but they vary considerably.
Methods
We searched PubMed and Embase for studies assessing the incidence of sharps injuries.
We combined the incidence rates of similar studies in a random effects meta-analysis
and explored heterogeneity with meta-regression.
Results
We located 45 studies of which 11 were randomized control trials, 15 were follow-up
studies, and 19 were cross-sectional studies. We categorized injuries as self-reported,
glove perforations, or administrative injuries. We calculated the population at risk
as person-years and as person-operations (po). Meta-analysis of the incidence rate
based on the best outcome measure resulted in 13.2 injuries per 100 time-units (95%
confidence interval [CI], 4.7-37.1; I2 = 100%). Per 100 person-years, the injury rate was 88.2 (95% CI, 61.3-126.9; 21 studies)
for self-reported injuries, 40.0 for perforations (95% CI, 19.2-83.5; 15 studies),
and 5.8 for administrative injuries (95% CI, 2.7-12.2; 5 studies). Per 100 po, the
respective figures were 2.1 (95% CI, 0.8-5.0; 4 studies), 11.1 (95% CI, 6.6-18.9,
15 studies), and 0.1 (95% CI, 0.05-0.21). I2 values were all above 90%. Meta-regression indicated lower incidence rates in studies
that used perforations per po.
Conclusions
A surgeon will have a sharps injury in about 1 in 10 operations . Reporting of sharps
injuries in surgical staff should be standardized per 100 po and be assessed in prospective
follow-up studies.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 27, 2018
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.
