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At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Application of CQI tools to the reduction in risk of needlestick injury.

OBJECTIVE: To reduce the risk of needlestick injuries to laboratory workers. DESIGN: Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) tools were applied to data collected on the number of blood gas syringes that arrived in the laboratory with needles still attached and to the reasons for these occurrences. SETTING: A clinical chemistry department within a 900-bed tertiary referral university teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Clinical chemistry laboratory staff and medical staff responsible for sending syringes with needles still attached. INTERVENTIONS: Changing to a preheparinized blood gas syringe that included a syringe cap within the packaging. RESULTS: Fivefold reduction in the number of syringes arriving in the laboratory with needles still attached. CONCLUSION: The risk of needlestick injury to laboratory workers can be reduced by provision to clinical staff of preheparinized blood gas syringes that include a syringe cap within the packaging. The techniques to CQI provide powerful tools for the identification, solving, and monitoring of safety-related issues within the healthcare environment.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hazards of sharps disposal.

The disposal of sharps continues to be one of the most hazardous procedures for clinical staff. This article looks at the dangers encountered and the precautions necessary to ensure the safe disposal of sharps.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

How should a fever mercury thermometer be disposed of ? A survey of those likely to be asked.

The American Academy of Pediatrics' recent technical report entitled "Mercury in the Environment: Implications for Pediatricians" was widely reported on by the news media. After the media reports, the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System experienced a notable increase in the volume of calls on this topic. We surveyed local, county, and state health officers who would likely be contacted by citizens with the question: "How should a fever mercury thermometer be disposed of?" Our initial contacts with health officers corroborated our caller's account: a lack of uniformity of response. This led us to question if there was any consensus in advice being offered to the public at large.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1997

Protecting the patient and the environment--new aspects and challenges in hospital infection control.

Environmental pollution has become a major concern for the future of life on our planet; medical care, especially in hospitals, contributes significantly to this pollution. The increasing usage of highly-developed medical devices, drugs and disposable products are a drain on natural resources as well as financial ones. In this situation, it is a major task for hospital epidemiologists to maintain high standards of hygiene while reducing environmental pollution, reducing consumption of limited natural resources, and minimizing costs. The reduction of hospital waste, the control of polluting and toxic emissions, the avoidance of unnecessary disinfection procedures and disposables, the implementation of energy and water saving technologies are practicable measures in hospital ecology. To realize a sustainable development within hospitals, it is necessary that the need to maintain a balance between effective infection control and a good ecological environment is recognized and supported by health-care workers and the hospital management.

Conservation of Energy Resources↗
PubMed2005

[Hazardous medical waste management as a public health issue].

The amount of waste produced is connected with the degree of a country's economic development; more developed countries produce more waste. This paper reviews the quantities, manipulation and treatment methods of medical waste in Croatia, as well as hazardous potentials of medical waste for human health. Medical waste must be collected and sorted in containers suitable for its characteristics, amount, means of transportation and treatment method in order to prevent contact with environment and to protect people who are working with waste. Hazardous medical waste in Croatia is largely produced by hospitals. Even though only one hospital has a licence to incinerate infectious medical waste, many other hospitals incinerate their hazardous waste in inappropriate facilities. Healthcare institutions also store great amounts of old medical waste, mostly pharmaceutical, anti-infectious, and cytostatic drugs and chemical waste. Data on waste treatment effects on human health are scarce, while environmental problems are covered better. Croatian medical waste legislation is not being implemented. It is very important to establish a medical waste management system that would implement the existing legislation in all waste management cycles from waste production to treatment and final disposal.

Croatia↗
PubMed2004

Hidden reality on the introduction of auto-disable syringes in developing countries.

With the growing concerns about the risk of unsafe injections (e.g. unsterilized injection practices), WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA decided to introduce the auto-disable (AD) syringe for immunization in the world. The AD syringe is designed to be automatically locked after a single use, hence no chance of reuse. Consequently, the risk of infection can be reduced for the recipient. On the other hand, the management of increased medical waste is becoming difficult, as the waste volume of AD syringes would be 200 times as much as those of sterilizable syringes. The used and improperly disposed AD syringes could be a huge source of blood-borne infections and environmental pollution at the community level. This study attempted to explore the present situation with regard to the introduction of AD syringes for immunization in Lao PDR. We conclude that reviewing the present 'safe injection' policy is urgently required in Lao PDR, as well as in other developing countries where the disposal system for medical wastes is not yet well established.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A multicenter study of costs and nursing impact of cartridge-needle units.

A multicenter study of the overall costs and impact on medication administration of sterile cartridge-needle units (Carpuject) and conventional disposable syringes with multiple- and single-dose vials was conducted in six hospitals in the Voluntary Hospitals of America (VHA) system. Data collection involved a time and motion phase measuring procurement, preparation, and disposal of both systems and a 6-month prospective global cost analysis of component costs, waste disposal, nursing time, needlestick injuries, and subsequent treatment. Nonacquisition costs were substantially lower with the use of the cartridge-needle units. When all costs are considered, sterile cartridge-needle units are a cost-effective alternative to conventional disposable syringes and multidose vials.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed2002

Characteristics of slag produced from incinerated hospital waste.

Ash produced from a hospital waste incinerator was treated using a high temperature melting process at 1200 degrees C. The quality of the produced slag was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), leaching tests and sequential chemical extraction of metals. The slag contained large amounts of SiO(2,) CaO, Al(2)O(3), Sn, Ni, Cu, Ba and B. XRD analysis revealed a moderate crystal structure for the melted slag and identified the main crystals as quartz (SiO(2)), kaolinite (Al(2)Si(2)O(5)(OH)(4)), albite (NaAlSi(3)O(8)) and gibbsite (Al(OH)(3)). The observed crystal structure assists in preventing the leaching of heavy metals from the slag. Furthermore, the leaching results found the produced slag to comply with disposal limits set by the US EPA. Results from sequential chemical extraction analysis showed that metals in the slag exhibited the strongest preference to be bound to the residual fraction (stable fraction), which is known to have very low leaching characteristics. Melting was found to stabilize heavy metals in hospital waste successfully and therefore it can be an acceptable method for disposal.

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Curbing needlestick injuries. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

According to NIOSH, organizational controls are vital in a prevention strategy to curb needlestick injuries to healthcare workers. These include worker training, eliminating unnecessary sharps, and placing disposal containers where sharps are used. The material presented in this article was excerpted from NIOSH's new guide, "Selecting, Evaluating, and Using Sharps Disposal Containers."

Health Personnel↗
PubMed1989

AVMA guide for veterinary medical waste management.

Lawmakers have enacted a variety of laws and regulations to ensure proper disposal of certain potentially infectious or otherwise objectionable waste. The veterinary medical profession supports scientifically based regulations that benefit public health. In 1988, Congress passed the Medical Waste Tracking Act, a federal program that mandates tracking certain regulated waste. Several types of waste generated in the typical clinical veterinary medical practice are considered regulated veterinary medical waste. Discarded needles, syringes, and other sharps; vaccines and vials that contained certain live or attenuated vaccines; cultures and stocks of infectious agents and culture plates; research animals that were exposed to agents that are infectious to human beings and their associated waste; and other animal waste that is known to be potentially harmful to human beings should be handled as regulated veterinary medical waste. Regulated veterinary medical waste should be handled with care. It should be decontaminated prior to disposal. The most popular, effective methods of decontamination are steam sterilization (autoclaving) and incineration. Chemical decontamination is appropriate for certain liquid waste. Waste should be packaged so that it does not spill. Sharps require rigid puncture- and leak-resistant containers that can be permanently sealed. Regulated veterinary medical waste that has not been decontaminated should be labeled with the universal biohazard symbol. Generators retain liability for waste throughout the entire disposal process. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that waste transporters and disposal facilities comply with state and federal requirements. Veterinary practices should maintain a written waste management program and accurate records of regulated veterinary medical waste disposal. Contingency planning and staff training are other important elements of a veterinary medical waste management program. The guide includes a model veterinary medical waste management program; however, it does not address all the variations in state and local regulations. Veterinarians should obtain copies of state and local laws and regulations and modify AVMA's model plan to create an individualized practice plan that complies with federal, state, and local laws and regulations. State and local veterinary medical organizations should monitor state and local regulation to influence decisions that affect veterinarians and to keep their members informed of changing requirements. Veterinarians and veterinary medical organizations must stay involved so that regulations do not unfairly burden the veterinary medical profession.

Directories as Topic↗