Sharps Injuries Persist Despite Protective Devices

Healthcare workers continue to be injured with contaminated sharps despite the use of engineered sharps injury protective devices, according to reports received by ECRI Institute. The reported incidents occurred either when the users were activating the safety feature or when they thought it was activated.

Numerous protective device designs exist for blood collection devices, prefilled drug syringes, lancets, scalpels, and a host of other sharps to help prevent users from being accidentally injured and exposed to bloodborne pathogens. Most designs require the user to activate the safety feature—for example, to push a button or slide a protective sheath over the needle or blade. Since these devices have become widely used,...