The handling and disposal of sharps among nursing staff of an intensive care unit

Abstract

Objective: To identify the factors that expose ICU nursing staff to accidents by sharp tools during the handling and disposal of these utensils. Method: Quantitative, descriptive and exploratory research, using the document analysis technique. It was analyzed 39 accidents chips with four ICU nursing workers, between 2005 and 2010, in a university hospital in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Results: The years of 2008 and 2009 had the highest accident records. As for sectors, the General Intensive Care Unit had the highest (46%) percentage. Among the professionals who crashed over, the nurses (49%) were highlighted and the needles were the material (69.2%) more involved in accidents. Conclusion: Mainly the implementation of strategies to reduce exposure for professional risks, especially measures to disposal and proper storage of sharp tools.