physicians, nurses, attending physicians, and dental faculty in our system in 2021. Analy- ses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 24). Our study was approved by the Rutgers University Institutional Review Board (protocol # Pro2020000988). Results Overall, 122 injuries were reported in 2021. The average age of an injured person was 33 ± 10 years. The majority of injuries were reported by women (58%). The highest rate of needlestick injuries was reported by den- tal students (6.9%) and resident physicians (3.6%), followed by a lower percentage of nurses, attending physicians, dental faculty, and medical students ( p < .001); Figure 1A). Further, 8 employees classified as “other” and 12 clinical support sta were not included in the rate analysis because a) employees in these groups belonged to multiple dier- ent departments and b) lack of data on the population at risk. Other employees included research assistants/associates and gradu- ate students/fellows. Clinical support sta included medical assistants, dental assistants, dental hygienists, and laboratory personnel. The majority of injuries were reported to occur in the dental clinics (39%), followed by in-patient settings (16%) and the operat- ing room (9%). Most injuries were caused by hollow needles (45%), followed by solid needles (19%; Figure 1B). Of the hollow needle injuries, the largest proportion (38%) were caused by dental anesthetic needles. The most common activity performed dur- ing injury was administering an injection, followed by performing a dental procedure, line placement, biopsy, and suturing (Table 1). Injuries were most likely to occur in the afternoon between 12 and 5 p.m. (Figure 1C). Furthermore, 60% of injuries occurred while the sharp instrument was in active use, versus during cleanup. Hollow needle injuries were common across professions, accounting for 100% of nurse injuries, 83% of support sta injuries, 50% of attending physician and dental faculty injuries, and 34% of resident physician inju- ries. The primary source of injury for medi- cal students was solid needles (100%) and for dental students was dental equipment (35%). Of note, the dental equipment that was implicated in most injuries was the den- tal bur (53%). Less commonly, an explorer,
FIGURE 1
Characteristics of Injuries by A) Injuries Reported by Group, B) Instruments Associated With Sharps Injury, and C) Time of Day When the Injury Occurred
A
7 . 0
4. 0
D A Y
v l R o
1. 0
0 . 6
0 . 2
M edical Students ( n = 3/ 1, 4 4 2)
Dental Students ( n = 4 0 / 577)
A ttending P hysi cians and Dental F aculty ( n = 8 / 1, 28 1)
Nurses ( n = 10 / 735)
R esident P hysi cians ( n = 4 1/ 1, 14 2)
G ro up R epo rting a Sharps Injury
B
45
19
18
12
6
Other Sharps ( n = 7)
Hollow Needle ( n = 55)
Dental Equipment ( n = 15)
Scalpel or Blade ( n = 22)
Solid Needle ( n = 23)
Instrument Causing the Injury
continued
We compared the proportion of inju- ries across academic programs using a chi- squared analysis. We also performed t -tests or analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests for
continuous variables. To compare the pro- portion of injuries in the student/trainee and employee groups, we used the total number of medical students, dental students, resident
15
January/February 2025 • Journal of Environmental Health
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