{"title":"Sharps injuries in a dental specialty hospital: retrospective analysis of occupational risks, 2020-2024.","authors":"Mengqi Zhang, Yani Chen, Suna Zhang, Xiaolan Fan","doi":"10.1186/s12903-025-07020-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Occupational sharps injuries (OSI) remain a critical occupational health risk for healthcare workers, particularly in dental specialty settings where the use of fine instruments and frequent blood exposure heighten vulnerability. However, systematic data on high-risk populations, procedural factors, and pathogen distribution in dental specialty hospitals remain scarce. This study investigates the incidence, risk factors, and bloodborne infection profiles of sharps injuries in a tertiary dental hospital.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective analysis was conducted on 170 OSI cases reported between January 2020 and December 2024 at a tertiary dental hospital in China. Data were extracted from paper-based registries and electronic adverse-event reporting systems, encompassing demographics, injury details, exposure sources, and pathogen profiles. Exclusion criteria included non-clinical injuries and incomplete records. Statistical analyses (SPSS 20.0) involved frequency calculations, chi-square tests, and Fisher's exact tests (significance: P < 0.05).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 170 OSI were reported between 2020 and 2024, with a annual incidence densities ranging from 3.09 to 5.15 per 100 person-years. Nurses (58.8%) and female workers (84.1%) constituted the majority of cases, while staff with ≤ 5 years of experience accounted for 64.7% of exposures. Bloodborne exposures dominated (76.5%), primarily caused by syringe needles (45.9%) and dental burs (9.4%). High-risk procedures included post-treatment instrument sorting (47.1%) and intraoperative handling (38.2%). Hepatitis B (9.2%) and syphilis (3.1%) were the most identified pathogens, though 63.85% of cases had unknown pathogen status. Dentists exhibited significantly higher hepatitis B exposure rates than nurses (13.9% vs. 5.4%, P = 0.04).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions in dental settings, including enhanced training for nurses and early-career staff, optimized instrument-handling protocols, and mandatory pathogen screening for high-risk patients. These findings provide actionable insights to mitigate OSI risks and reduce bloodborne infection burdens in dental specialty hospitals.</p>","PeriodicalId":9072,"journal":{"name":"BMC Oral Health","volume":"25 1","pages":"1618"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12523194/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BMC Oral Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-025-07020-z","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Occupational sharps injuries (OSI) remain a critical occupational health risk for healthcare workers, particularly in dental specialty settings where the use of fine instruments and frequent blood exposure heighten vulnerability. However, systematic data on high-risk populations, procedural factors, and pathogen distribution in dental specialty hospitals remain scarce. This study investigates the incidence, risk factors, and bloodborne infection profiles of sharps injuries in a tertiary dental hospital.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 170 OSI cases reported between January 2020 and December 2024 at a tertiary dental hospital in China. Data were extracted from paper-based registries and electronic adverse-event reporting systems, encompassing demographics, injury details, exposure sources, and pathogen profiles. Exclusion criteria included non-clinical injuries and incomplete records. Statistical analyses (SPSS 20.0) involved frequency calculations, chi-square tests, and Fisher's exact tests (significance: P < 0.05).
Results: A total of 170 OSI were reported between 2020 and 2024, with a annual incidence densities ranging from 3.09 to 5.15 per 100 person-years. Nurses (58.8%) and female workers (84.1%) constituted the majority of cases, while staff with ≤ 5 years of experience accounted for 64.7% of exposures. Bloodborne exposures dominated (76.5%), primarily caused by syringe needles (45.9%) and dental burs (9.4%). High-risk procedures included post-treatment instrument sorting (47.1%) and intraoperative handling (38.2%). Hepatitis B (9.2%) and syphilis (3.1%) were the most identified pathogens, though 63.85% of cases had unknown pathogen status. Dentists exhibited significantly higher hepatitis B exposure rates than nurses (13.9% vs. 5.4%, P = 0.04).
Conclusion: This study highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions in dental settings, including enhanced training for nurses and early-career staff, optimized instrument-handling protocols, and mandatory pathogen screening for high-risk patients. These findings provide actionable insights to mitigate OSI risks and reduce bloodborne infection burdens in dental specialty hospitals.
期刊介绍：
BMC Oral Health is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of the prevention, diagnosis and management of disorders of the mouth, teeth and gums, as well as related molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology.
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