A1902 Changes in thirteen years of epidemiological status of needle stick injuries through Japan/EPINet as voluntary based nation-wide surveillance network in Japan

Tuesday, March 20, 2012: 16:20
Costa Maya 2 (Cancun Center)
Toru Yoshikawa, Department of Research, The Institute for Science of Labour, Kawasaki, Japan
Koji Wada, Japan/EPINet Surveillance Working Group (JESWG), Research Group for Occupational Infection Control and Prevention in Japan (JRGOICP), Tokyo, Japan
Tetsuhiro Matsushita, Japan/EPINet Surveillance Working Group (JESWG), JRGOICP, Tokyo, Japan
Kiyoshi Kidouchi, Health Care Center, Asahi Kasei Corporation Nobeoka Office, Nobeoka, Japan
Yuji Morisawa, JESWG, JRGOICP, Tokyo, Japan
Jongja Lee, JESWG, JRGOICP, Tokyo, Japan
Hitomi Kurosu, JESWG, JRGOICP, Tokyo, Japan
Mayumi Aminaka, JESWG, JRGOICP, Tokyo, Japan
Koji Mori, Occupational Health Training Center, University Of Occupational And Environmental Health, Kitakyusyu, Japan
Introduction
This study aimed at examining annual logs of needlestick injuries collected through a voluntary nation-wide surveillance network in thirteen years for preventing occupational blood borne infections. The emphasis was placed on revealing the past and current situations of needlestick/sharps injuries (NSIs) in health care settings and evaluating prioritized measures in preventing blood-borne infections among health care workers in Japan.

Methods
Japan/EPINet was developed under the technical support of the International Healthcare Worker Safety Center, University of Virginia in the United States. There were two phases of the nation-wide surveillance network comprising 214 AIDS referral hospitals in 1996-2003 and 77 such hospital in 2004-2009 out of a total of 364 registered hospitals in Japan. These hospitals reported employees’ NSIs on a voluntary basis. A project team assigned by the Research Group for Occupational Infection Control and Prevention in Japan (JRGOICP) evaluated the current data of NSIs.

Results
A total of 30,066 injuries were reported to Japan/EPINet from 1996 to 2003 and 13,830 injuries from 2004 to 2009. The rate of hepatitis C positive cases among the total NSIs decreased from 72.2% (1953/3124) in 1996, 31.8% (904/3244) in 2003, to 21.3% (402/1970) in 2008. The propotion of NSIs due to ‘recapping’ decreased (29.5%, 15.5% and 8.7%, respectively). During the period, NSIs caused by winged steel needles decreased (24.0%, 12.1% and 10.4%, respectively) and those by vacuum tube phlebotomy needles also decreased (4.9%, 2.3% and 1.5%, respectively). This thirteen-year experience suggested that recognition of the risks of NSIs was vital for promoting the effective use of safety-engineered needle/sharp devices and point-of-use disposal containers.

Discussion
The creation of the nation-wide surveillance network was effective for monitoring and evaluating NSIs and for focusing on implementation of effective countermeasures. Dissemination of good practices in preventing NSIs proved useful for spreading proper countermeasures supported by evidence-based data.

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