Phlebotomy practices/needles stick injuries/hepatitis B status/among interns in a Dublin hospital

Needlestick injury is the most important risk event for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B Virus (HBV) transmission to health-care workers. We examined phlebotomy practices, the frequency of needle stick injuries, the reporting of such injuries and hepatitis B status among interns in St James's Hospital during a six month period. This study took the form of a questionnaire. The response rate was 100%. 72% had at least one needlestick injury during this time period, 23% had injuries from known HIV sero-positive or hepatitis B surface antigen positive patients, less than 5% of all injuries were reported and only 41% of interns were definitely hepatitis B immune. The majority (77%) resheated needles by hand.