Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure and the Culture of Reporting Sharps Injuries at a Large Academic Institution

Our study objectives were to describe injuries from sharps and gain insight into the culture of injury reporting among healthcare professionals at an academic medical center. We performed a retrospective chart review and analyzed sharps injuries reported in 2021 using chi-square analysis for categorical variables and t-tests or analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests for continuous variables. The highest rates of sharps injuries were reported by dental students (6.9%) and resident physicians (3.6%), followed by a smaller percentage of nurses, attending physicians, dental faculty, and medical students ( p < .001). The majority of injuries were reported to occur while administering an injection and/or working in the dental clinics (39%). The median number of days to report an injury was 0 days for dental students, 2 days for resident physicians ( p < .001), and 3 days for medical students ( p = .004). We found that sharps injuries continue to occur in the clinical teaching environment and could reflect procedures that confer a higher risk of injury. Further, our study suggests that there is a stronger culture of reporting among dental students.