Evaluation of a programme designed to reduce occupational exposures from steel-winged butterfly needles in the clinical setting

Abstract

The risk of healthcare workers (HCWs) sustaining harm from needle stick/sharps injury (NSI) has been widely publicised, and the prevention and control of exposures to sharp instruments is a high profile issue. Hospital staff work in an environment where numerous sharp instruments are used as routine equipment in patient care. The objective of the study was the evaluation of a programme devised to reduce the occupational exposures from steel winged butterfly needles for all hospital staff in the clinical setting - a 400 bed university tertiary referral hospital in Sydney, Australia. A 4 year, 6 month retrospective surveillance study from January 1998-June 2002 was followed by a 1 year, 6 month post study period from July 2002-December 2004. Between 1998 and March 2000, the total number of NSIs recorded against steel winged butterfly needles was 26, with the NSI rate associated to these devices at 4.1 per 1000 full-time equivalent (FTE) across four different staffing groups. From April 2000-June 2002, following the introduction of a safety butterfly device and training sessions, the total reported NSIs recorded fell to four, or 0.6 per 1000 FTE, with NSIs occurring in only two staff groups, demonstrating a significant (2 = 12.197, p < 0.0005) decrease in the butterfly NSI rate. In conclusion, the introduction of a safety butterfly device and training sessions significantly reduced (by 86.6%) the amount and frequency of NSIs recorded against butterfly needles among clinical staff.