Abstract

Healthcare workers across the globe are exposed to infectious agents#x2019; day in and day out. Increased reliability on diagnostics has increased usage of needles by healthcare personnel while fulfilling their clinical obligations .This has made healthcare personnel prone to injuries. Needle stick injury is an occupational hazard in hospital settings1, 2. Healthcare workers are at great risk of needle stick injury while administering injections, withdrawing blood, disposing needles, handling linen, biomedical waste segregation etc.3, 4,5,6,7. The risk of acquiring HIV through needle stick is 0.3%; while, such risk is 3% for hepatitis C, and 30% for hepatitis B8. These injuries are also seen to induce considerable psychological aftermaths such as phobia, anxiety and stress in affected individuals 9, 10. Needle stick injury are injuries caused by needles such as hypodermic needles, blood collection needles ,intravenous stylets and needles used to connect parts of intravenous delivery systems (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health). The incidence of needle stick injuries among health-care workers varies in different countries. For instance, its prevalence has been reported to be about 66% in Egypt, 45% in Pakistan, 31.4 % in Germany, 46.8% in Saudi Arabia, 45% in Turkey, 50% in Australia and Taiwan and 79.5% in India. It seems that these injuries are more prevalent in developing countries11.