Download Infection Control with Needles

Infection Control with Needles
Reina Ligeralde
DEH 13
Fall 2007
Guidelines for Infection Control
in Dental Health-Care Settings
 Percutaneous injuries among dental health-care
personnel usually
 Occur outside the patient's
mouth
 Are caused by syringe
needles, burs, laboratory
knives, and other sharp
instruments
 Involve limited amounts of
blood
Needle Stick Injury Facts
 Estimated 600,000-800,000 needle stick injuries
occur annually involving contaminated needles
 Others estimate that a needle stick injury is
reported every 30 seconds  over 1 million such
cases per year
 Resulting diseases: hepatitis, AIDS, diphtheria,
typhus, herpes, malaria, tuberculosis, spotted fever,
syphilis, gonorrhea
Health Care Workers
 Annually,12,000
healthcare workers
contract hepatitis
 18,000 are infected with
hepatitis, HIV, and other
blood-borne diseases
 Up to 300 of them die  86% of all occupationally
related infectious disease
as a result of an
accidental needle stick transmissions result from
accidental needle sticks
 CDC estimates 62-88% of sharps
injuries can potentially be prevented by
the use of safer medical devices
Methods to Reduce the
Risk of Blood Contacts
 Use of standard precautions
 Use of devices with features engineered to
prevent sharps injuries
 Modifications of work practices
Standard Precautions
 Use of PPEs
 Other protective
equipment
e.g. finger guards
while suturing
Engineering Controls
 Often incorporate safer designs of instruments
and devices
 e.g. self-sheathing anesthetic needles
Self-Sheathing Safety Needle
A. Syringe with protective
sheath over the needle
B. As the injection is made, the
sheath slides back.
C. After injection, the sheath
returns to cover the needle
and protect the clinician
during disposal.
Traditional Injection System vs.
Safer Injection Systems
 A. Before use
 B. After use
Work-Practice Controls
 Involve aspirating anesthetic
syringes
 Entail used needles never
manipulated by using both hands
 Include used needles never
directed toward any part of the
body
More Work-Practice Controls
 Should be employed for recapping needles
between uses and before disposal:
 A one-handed scoop
technique
A mechanical device
designed for holding the
needle cap to facilitate
one-handed recapping
Even More Work-Practice Controls
 Never bend, break, or
shear needles before
disposal.
 Avoid passing a syringe
with an unsheathed
needle.
 Recap needles before
attempting to remove
them from nondisposable
aspirating syringes.
Work-Practice Controls
…Last but not Least
 Dispose syringes and
needles in appropriate
containers that are:
Closable
Leakproof
Puncture-resistant
Located as close as
feasible to where the items
were used
References
 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwR/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5217a
1.htm
 http://www.needle-stick-syringe-injury.com/pgs/needlestick-facts.html
 Miller, C.H., & Palenik, C.J. (2005). Infection control &
management of hazardous materials for the dental
team (3rd ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier Mosby.
 Wilkins, E.M. (2005). Clinical practice of the dental
hygienist (9th ed.). Baltimore: Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins.