A sharps injury is a penetrating wound caused by a needle, scalpel, or other sharp objects that expose the victim to blood or other bodily fluids. These injuries are a serious occupational hazard among healthcare workers, including surgeons, nurses, emergency room staff, and laboratory room professionals working with sharp medical devices.
What are the potential risks of sharps injuries?
The risks of sharps injuries include the possibility of contracting diseases like Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV), and Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It occurs when a sharp that was used in the injury is tainted with a patient’s blood or bodily fluid. Sharps injuries can also cause skin and soft tissue infections. The victim of these injuries may experience anxiety and emotional distress.
How to reduce the risks of sharps injuries?
As a healthcare professional, you can encourage the prevention of sharps injuries in the following ways:
- Use safety-engineered medical devices, such as sharps with retractable needles or self-sheathing needles.
- Use a neutral zone to transfer sharps rather than passing them from hand to hand during surgical procedures.
- Conduct training sessions for staff members on how to use, handle and dispose of all sharps – even those with safety features.
- Sharps disposal practices should be routinely assessed to ensure that sharps containers are placed as near as possible to the point of use.
- Establish a system for tracking and preventing sharps injury incidents.
Ensure Sharps Injury Prevention with HMD Medical Devices
HMD Healthcare offers a selection of medical devices with Sharps Injury Prevention features to lower the risk of sharps injuries significantly. Let’s discuss each of them in more detail.
Safety Needle
Dispojekt safety needles have a dedicated SIP (Sharps Injury Protection) shield, which reduces the possibility of accidental needlestick injuries. The medical professional must use only one hand to push back the hinge-based shield after use. The transparent shield prevents contact between the fingertips and the needle. An audible click sound indicates the needle cover is locked.
Kojak Syringe
Kojak auto disable syringes work on a ring & break mechanism which automatically breaks the plunger, preventing repeated use and lowering the risk of infection and cross-contamination. The auto disable syringe is essential for preventing the spread of the Infections and safeguarding millions of medical personnel. WHO has suggested its use for collecting blood samples from COVID-19 patients and administering the vaccine.
Safety I.V. Cannula
We provide two types of safety I.V. cannulas: Cathy + I.V. Cannula and Cathula + I.V. Cannula. These cannulas have a SIP (Sharps Injury Protection) CLIP that envelopes the used needle tip when extracted from the catheter after cannulation, decreasing the risk of needlestick injuries and infections.
Conclusion
We at HMD healthcare strive to improve the lives of patients and healthcare professionals by providing safety-engineered medical devices that adhere to international standards. In more than 6 decades of our existence, we have consistently ensured mass production quality and invested in the best technologies available.
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