REDUCED FREQUENCY OF PERCUTANEOUS INJURIES IN SURGEONS - 1993 VERSUS 1988

Objective: To compare the frequency of occupational injuries reported by surgeons in 1993 with similar data obtained in 1988. Design and set ting: Two point-prevalence studies of percutaneous injuries of surgeon s practicing in tertiary and non-tertiary-care hospitals in the New Yo rk metropolitan area. Participants: A total of 202 surgeons and surgic al residents surveyed in 1988 and 347 surveyed in 1993 (67 and 65% of the eligible groups, respectively), including 85 surgeons in 1993 (71% of the eligible group) who had participated in the 1988 survey. Outco me measures: Yearly frequency of percutaneous injuries, and injury fre quency per 1000 operative hours. Results: There was a significant decr ease in the frequency of reported percutaneous injuries over the 5-yea r period. For all surgeons, the mean number of yearly injuries decreas ed from 5.5 +/- 14.4 SD to 2.1 +/- 6.0 SD (P less than or equal to 0.0 01). Paired analysis of the subgroup of 85 surgeons who participated i n both surveys showed a nearly identical decrease (P = 0.001). Signifi cant decreases were observed in general surgeons, specialists and resi dents. Conclusions: During the 5 years studied, surgeons practicing in the greater New York metropolitan area reported a significant reducti on in the frequency of occupationally associated percutaneous injuries . The reduced risk of percutaneous injuries should substantially lower the rate of acquired infections from blood-borne pathogens.