1. Occupational percutaneous injuries and exposures in a dental teaching environment: A 10-year report
- Author
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Himabindu Dukka, Patricia Byrd, Chen Qian, Gay Baughman, Sharjeel Butt, and Shesh N. Rai
- Subjects
Work practice ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Risk Management ,Percutaneous ,020205 medical informatics ,business.industry ,030206 dentistry ,02 engineering and technology ,General Medicine ,Dental education ,Confidence interval ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Increased risk ,Occupational Exposure ,Emergency medicine ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Infection control ,Medicine ,Humans ,Lack of knowledge ,business ,Needlestick Injuries - Abstract
PURPOSE Percutaneous injuries (PIs) are woefully underreported and the risk at dental academic institutions is higher due to lack of knowledge and experience of students. The aims of this study are to (1) present data on the prevalence of PIs and exposures over a 10-year period in a dental teaching institution; (2) provide information on areas with increased risk as it relates to personnel and instruments; and (3) improve the awareness of the risk of occupational PIs and exposures in dentistry. METHODS Data presented were collected as a part of an infection control program. A description of the incident reporting and collecting methodology is provided. Distribution tables and confidence intervals for injuries by year were calculated. Overall associations were produced using either Fisher's exact or Chi-square test. RESULTS Between 2009 and 2019, a total of 342 PIs (338) and mucosal exposures (4) were reported. A significant number of injuries occurred while reaching for an instrument (15.2%), injecting local anesthetic (13.2%), and cleaning an instrument (11.7%). About 31% of the injuries were caused by needlesticks followed by burs (22.8%). There was a statistically significant association between work practice controls and activity type (p
- Published
- 2021