How Common Is Needlestick Injury ?

(Needlestick Injuries among Surgeons in Training, Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H. et al, New England journal of Medicine. Volume 356:2693-2699 June 28, 2007 Number 26 )

How Common is needlestick injury amongst Residents ? Here are some intersting facts about needlestick injury collected from an article published in New England Journal of Medicine .

1. 99% of Surgical Residents have reported atleast 1 needlestick injury in their period of training
2. As expected Surgical Residents are more likely to have an injury than Medical Residents
3. A Shocking 51% of Injuries are not reported.
4. Double Gloving reduces the risk of exposure to blood significantly.
5 .Sharpless surgical practices are new methods for reducing this menace
6. If anti retroviral therapy is taken within 24-36 hrs , it reduces the incidence of Needlestick injury by 81%