Handling of Sharps in the Operating Room: A Single Institution Review

Operating room (OR) personnel are at a high risk for sharp injuries, which can cause serious side effects. The goals of this study are to analyze OR nurses and surgical technologists’ experiences and their current level of sharps education. An anonymous survey was sent to a single institution asking whether the participants have been stuck by a sharp, when they were stuck, and their perspective on sharp safety. Forty-two participants responded to the survey. The authors found 69% had sustained a sharp injury, 58.6% being stuck while handling sharps alone. The majority (90.5%) believed handing back sharps protected was the safest. Forty-five percent reported never attending continuing medication education (CME) regarding sharps. Only 59.4% of those who had CME found it helpful. This is the first study the authors know of that looked at OR personnel’s perspectives on sharps handling and CME. The authors recommend re-evaluation of current CME. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 33(4):216-218, 2024)

Key words: needle stick, occupational hazard, needlestick injury, operating room