Trends of voluntary reporting of needlestick injuries and hepatitis B vaccination status among health-care workers of a tertiary health care center in Puducherry

BACKGROUND: Health-care workers (HCWs) can sustain needlestick injuries (NSIs) during patient care activities and are at a greater risk of exposure to blood-borne infectious agents such as HBV, HCV, and HIV, among which only HBV has an effective vaccine. Unfortunately, both the voluntary reporting rates of NSIs and HBV vaccination coverage among HCWs have been generally low. This study aims to analyze the trends of voluntary reporting of NSIs and the HBV vaccination status among the HCWs of our tertiary health care center. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted between January 2016 and July 2018 at a tertiary health care center in Puducherry. A standard pro forma was filled by all HCWs reporting NSIs. HIV, hepatitis B virus surface antigen, and hepatitis C virus were tested using rapid card tests, and anti-hepatitis B surface titers were tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay according to the manufacturer's instructions. RESULTS: A total of 83 incidents of NSIs were reported. Nursing staffs reported the maximum number of incidents followed by students. About 42 incidents of NSI were reported in the year 2018 compared to 26 and 15 incidents reported in 2017 and 2016, respectively. Only 37 HCWs had taken the complete course of HBV vaccine. CONCLUSION: This study shows an increase in the voluntary reporting of NSIs by the HCWs, but the HBV vaccination status among them was found to be low.