Frequency
The frequency of such events has been estimated to be about 800,000 cases in the USA alone (1999 report).) Another investigation estimates the rates of injuries on a global level to affect about 3.5 million individuals. Among healthcare workers nurses and physicians appear especially at risk; an investigation among American surgeons indicates that almost every surgeon experienced at least one such injury during their training. Within the medical field specialties differ in regard to the risk of needlestick injury, thus surgery, anesthesia, ENT, internal medicine, and dermatology tend to show relatively high, and radiology and pediatrics relatively low rates of injury. Half or more events may go unreported as injured healthcare workers may not take the time to report, downplay the risk, or fear stigmatization and professional consequences.
Needlestick injuries may occur not only with freshly contaminated sharps, but also, after some time, with needles that carry dry blood. While the infectiousness of HIV and HCV decrease within a couple of hours, HBV remains stable during desiccation and infectious for more than a week.
Needlestick injuries are of significant concern to police workers. In San Diego 30% of police workers reported such injuries typically when searching suspects.
A study of 1,333 police officers in the Denver Police Department found that only 43.4% of those exposed, reported their injuries. 42% of respondents indicated they were on second duty shift (evenings) when they were injured. Additionally, nearly two-thirds who experienced needlesticks indicated it was during their first five years of experience
A law enforcement study in New York City Police Department identified 38.7 exposures per 10,000 police officers (includes bites & sticks), while Patrol & Narcotics officers had a 43.6/10,000 exposure rate.
Read more about this topic: Needlestick Injury
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