Prevalence of needlestick injuries among nursing interns: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The aim of the present study was to analyze the prevalence of needlestick injuries (NSI) of trainee nursing students and to understand the cause of injury and psychological reactions following injury, and take corresponding countermeasures to prevent adverse consequences.

Multiple databases were used to search for articles related to NSI among nursing interns. The selected literature was retrospectively evaluated by using Review Manager version 5.2.

According to the analysis of 8 published studies, the lowest overall prevalence of NSI occupational exposure was 6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 3-9%], the highest was 51% (95% CI: 42-60%), and the total combined prevalence was 27% (95% CI: 18-37%). The overall prevalence rate of interns under 25 years old was 31% (95% CI: 7-69%), and that of interns over 25 years old was 26% (95% CI: 15-38%). The overall prevalence of interns was 38% (95% CI: 16-61%) in developing countries and 21% (95% CI: 11-31%) in developed countries. The overall prevalence of interns was 38% (95% CI: 16-61%) in Asian countries, 9% (95% CI: 3-15%) in the United States, and 30% (95% CI: 3-57%) in European countries.

The results showed that interns over 25 years of age were more likely to have NSI, and interns in developing countries were more likely to have NSI than those in developed countries. Interns in Asia were more likely to have NSI than interns in Europe, and the lowest incidence of NSI was among interns in the USA.