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Effectiveness of measures to prevent needlestick injuries among ...

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4 Intervention program evaluation<br />

mented educational program. It was not possible, therefore, <strong>to</strong> conclude that changes<br />

in reported injury rates were the result <strong>of</strong> box relocation, increased safety awareness or<br />

changes in knowledge resulting from the educational program, or uncontrolled con-<br />

founding.<br />

Edmond et al. placed observers <strong>to</strong> record needle recapping by nurses before and after<br />

relocation <strong>of</strong> needle disposal boxes [73]. The observed rates <strong>of</strong> recapping both before<br />

and after relocation <strong>of</strong> the boxes held steady at higher than 90 %, suggesting either<br />

that this was a uniquely non-compliant population or that the presence <strong>of</strong> the observ-<br />

ers affected the nurses’ behavior more than placement <strong>of</strong> the disposal boxes.<br />

� Rigid disposal containers<br />

The pre-post intervention comparison was also used by all four <strong>of</strong> the studies within<br />

this subgroup assessing the effectiveness <strong>of</strong> transitioning from cardboard disposal<br />

boxes <strong>to</strong> impermeable plastic boxes [43; 77 <strong>to</strong> 79]. None <strong>of</strong> these evaluations ade-<br />

quately addressed the concern about concurrent changes in practice, policy or back-<br />

ground risks (e. g. due <strong>to</strong> changes in staffing levels). All relied on self-reported <strong>injuries</strong>,<br />

potentially introducing bias if reporting practices changed during the observation<br />

period independent <strong>of</strong> the change <strong>to</strong> rigid disposal containers.<br />

D’Arco et al. rated poor, implemented several interventions at the same time, includ-<br />

ing safety training and improvements <strong>to</strong> injury reporting systems, in addition <strong>to</strong> the<br />

transition <strong>to</strong> rigid disposal containers [43]. Though a decrease in the needle stick<br />

injury rate was observed, it was not possible <strong>to</strong> conclude that the decrease was attrib-<br />

utable <strong>to</strong> the new disposal boxes.<br />

Smith et al. judged <strong>to</strong> be <strong>of</strong> intermediate quality, reported no change in injury rates<br />

following introduction a plastic sharps disposal box [79]. However, they did note that<br />

the number <strong>of</strong> needle containing devices used increased 13.5 % over the observation<br />

period. Therefore, a constant incidence <strong>of</strong> needle stick <strong>injuries</strong> may actually be indica-<br />

tive <strong>of</strong> a decreased risk, since exposure had increased. The analyses presented by the<br />

authors were inadequate <strong>to</strong> reach a firm conclusion, however.<br />

Ribner et al. and Krasinski et al. both <strong>of</strong> intermediate quality, provided slightly more<br />

evidence <strong>of</strong> the potential protective effect <strong>of</strong> rigid containers as compared <strong>to</strong> card-<br />

Report „Needlestick <strong>injuries</strong>“ 50

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