[Stab wounds and lacerations among operating room personnel]

In order to illustrate frequency of peroperative accidental needle-stick injuries and lacerations among operation theatre staff, the theatre staffs in the Central Hospital in Hillerød (CH), the County Hospital in Roskilde (ASR) and the St. Elisabeth Municipal Hospital in Copenhagen (SE) were requested to complete a questionnaire after every operation in which they had participated. This investigation took place during a period of three months in CH and two months in ASR and SE. A total of 861 questionnaires were completed with a percentage of replies of 54.4. Of these, 355 (41%) were gynaecological/obstetric interventions, 297 (35%) orthopaedic surgical interventions and 188 (22%) general surgical while 21 (2%) were unspecified. A total 187 (21.7%) cases of holes in the gloves, 47 (5.5%) accidental needlesticks and two (0.23%) accidental lacerations. The frequency of needlestick injuries was greater during gynaecological operations than with the orthopedic surgical and general surgical operations. No differences were observed in the average durations of operation in cases of lesion or total number of lesions. Among the operations, 657 (76.3%) were elective operations, 168 (19.5%) were emergencies and 36 (4.2%) were unspecified. Thirty (4.6%) of the needlestick injuries occurred during the elective interventions and 14 (8.3%) during the emergency operations. As a rule, it was the operating surgeon who injured himself with a needle and the commonest site of the lesion was the pulp of the left index finger. Only one of these lesions had been notified as an occupational injury.