Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Whole-Body Nanoparticle Aerosol Inhalation Exposures
Published on: May 7, 2013
Accidental needle sticks, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the fallacy of public policy
Bruce L Wolf1, Albert Marks, John M Fahrenholz
1Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37205, USA. wolfatthelair@comcast.net
Background:
Current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines mandate the use of safety needles when allergy injections are given. Safety needles for intradermal testing remain optional. Whether safety needles reduce the number of accidental needle sticks (ANSs) in the outpatient setting has yet to be proven.
Objective:
To determine the rate of ANSs with new (safety) needles vs old needles used in allergy immunotherapy and intradermal testing.
Methods:
Allergy practices from 22 states were surveyed by e-mail.
Results:
Seventy practices (28%) responded to the survey. Twice as many ANSs occurred in practices giving immunotherapy when using new needles vs old needles (P < .01). The rate of ANSs was roughly the same for intradermal testing with new needles vs old needles.
Conclusions:
These findings further question whether OSHA's guidelines for safety needle use in outpatient practice need revision and if allergy practices might be excluded from the requirement to use safety needles.
Related Concept Videos
The Availability Heuristic
Standard Precaution
Hand hygiene is the most crucial means to prevent the transmission of disease. Employers are legally required to provide their workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize exposure or contact with...
Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...
PPE Use in Healthcare Settings I: Donning
Smallpox
Ethical Dilemmas I
Let us explore some examples to understand the potentially complex moral decisions nurses face.
Take the case of caring for minors, particularly in areas related to reproductive...
