Effect of Needlestick Injury, Blood & Body Fluid Exposure Surveillance System

Abstract

This paper aims to understand factors associated with percutaneous injuries (PIs) in health care workers through analyzing the data collected by using Chinese Exposure Prevention Information Network (Chinese EPINet) . A total of 2,780 reported cases as of December 09, 2009, including 2, 642 reported to be exposed to a needlestick injury and 138 were exposed to patients' Blood and body fluids (BBF).There is a decreased prevalence of PIs among technicians, nursing and support personnel, while mildly increasing trend in physicians was found. While comparing with other countries," recapping" was the most frequently found risk factor of PIs in Japan followed by Taiwan. The total cost was NTD: 3,214, 744 for all reported PIs, and NTD: 11,900,000 per year if underreporting being taken into account. This paper also discusses regulations/laws on PIs in other countries, to provide a better understanding and basis for our future regulations/guidelines development.