Assessment of Sharp Injuries among Cameroonian Dental Professionals

Introduction Percutaneous exposure to blood and body fluid following sharps injury is a common occupational adverse event that increases the risk of transmission of bloodborne pathogens like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV (1). The psychological, medical, career and financial consequences of sharp injuries have been previously documented (2,3). Although sharp injuries among dental professionals have been explored in several industrialized nations, data are less available from developing countries. A study of hospital-based dental professionals in United States of America revealed that about a quarter of percutaneous injury were due to anaesthetic syringe injury occurring during activity and after needle use (4). Another study among Minnesota dental practitioners showed that dental surgery assistants and hygienists reported numerous injuries associated with recapping of needles (5). Among Turkish nurses, 22.4% experienced sharps injuries of which 63.6% were needlestick exposures (6). In Nigeria, a study amongst clinical dental students revealed that 58.8% of the students have had at least Assessment of Sharp Injuries among Cameroonian Dental Professionals


Introduction
Percutaneous exposure to blood and body fluid following sharps injury is a common occupational adverse event that increases the risk of transmission of bloodborne pathogens like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV (1).The psychological, medical, career and financial consequences of sharp injuries have been previously documented (2,3).
Although sharp injuries among dental professionals have been explored in several industrialized nations, data are less available from developing countries.A study of hospital-based dental professionals in United States of America revealed that about a quarter of percutaneous injury were due to anaesthetic syringe injury occurring during activity and after needle use (4).Another study among Minnesota dental practitioners showed that dental surgery assistants and hygienists reported numerous injuries associated with recapping of needles (5).Among Turkish nurses, 22.4% experienced sharps injuries of which 63.6% were needlestick exposures (6).In Nigeria, a study amongst clinical dental students revealed that 58.8% of the students have had at least
Previous studies suggest that about half of all dentists report a recent needlestick and sharps injuries in both the United Kingdom (10) and in Thailand (11).The most common "sharps" injuries among dentists continue to arise from needles and drilling instruments, such as burs (10)(11)(12).
The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of sharp injury among Cameroonian dental professionals.

Materials And Methods
A cross-sectional study of 41 dental professionals recruited from 4 out of 10 provinces in Cameroon was conducted in the second half of 2009.A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on demography, nature, frequency and causes of sharps injury, post-exposure prophylaxis practice and methods

Objective
To assess the prevalence of sharp injury among Cameroonian dental professionals.

Materials and Methods
A cross-sectional study of 41 dental professionals recruited from 4 out of 10 provinces in Cameroon was conducted in the second half of 2009.A self-administered questionnaire was used to capture information on demography, nature, frequency and causes of sharp injury, post-exposure prophylaxis practice and methods of sharps disposal.

Results
Thirty-nine dental professionals (95.1%) had experienced sharp injury with 35.9% being once in the preceding 12 months.Needlestick was the most common sharp injury experienced by the respondents.Most of the injuries occurred during recapping of the needle.Activity during which injuries occurred was not significantly associated with type of practice.Twenty three (59.0%)respondents received post-exposure prophylaxis after sustaining sharp injury.Proper disposal of sharps in a special container was observed by 35 (85.4%) of the respondents.

Conclusion
The prevalence of sharp injuries among Cameroonian dental professionals was high.This justifies an urgent need for concerted effort to reduce sharp injuries in Cameroon dental practices through a comprehensive sharp injury prevention program including work place safety, employee training on guidelines adherence, safe recapping and disposal systems.

Abstract ORIgInAL ARTIcLE
The

Results
The respondents were mostly male and in the 31-40 years age group.Those working in government owned dental units comprised 39.0% while 70.7% worked in dental clinics located in the urban centers (Table 1).

Discussion
Sharps injuries potentially expose workers to deadly viruses and other bloodborne pathogens.The prevalence of sharps injury was 95.1% and a high frequency of multiple exposures was evident in this study.The rates in this study are comparable to those from Nigeria (13) but lower than those from South Africa (14).Frequent uses AnnAls of AfricAn surgery • Volume 6 • July 2010 11 of sharps in oral healthcare delivery and restricted narrow field of surgery presumably contribute to the high rate of occupational exposure.Consequently, policy generation to address this risk with its attendant clinical, emotional, social and financial consequences is recommended.The injection needle constituted the majority of sharps injuries in this study, similar to the findings among Nigerian dentists (15).Needle safety is also a concern in other African countries and medical specialties.In the previous study in Nigeria, 90.3% of Gynaecological The AnnAls of AfricAn surgery | www.sskenya.org of sharps disposal.Ethical clearance to carry out the study was obtained from the respective provincial organs of the Cameroonian Ministry of Public Health in the four provinces.Informed consent was obtained from the participants after being informed of the objective of the study and assured of strict confidentiality of their responses.Participation was voluntary and no incentive was declared.Epi-info version Epi 16 was used for data analysis.Test for significance was done using Chi square.P≤0.05 was considered significant.The results were presented in tabular forms.

Table 1 :
Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

Table 2 :
Nature of Sharp Injuries Experienced by the RespondentsAssessment of Sharp Injuries among Cameroonian Dental ProfessionalsAgbor M.A., Azodo C.C.
of sharps container and education are needed in dental clinics in Cameroon to ensure total compliance with sharps disposal in sealed sharps containers.

Table 3 :
Frequency of Sharp Injuries among the Respondents

Table 4 :
Relationship Between Type of Practice and Activities during which the Respondents Experienced Sharp Injuries

Table 5 :
Post-Exposure Prophylaxis after Sustaining Sharp Injury among the Respondents

Table 6 :
Mode of Sharps Disposal in the Clinic among RespondentsThe AnnAls of AfricAn surgery | www.sskenya.orgConclusionThefrequency and prevalence of sharps injuries among Cameroonian dental professionals was high.This justifies a need for concerted effort to reduce sharps injuries in Cameroon through comprehensive sharps injury prevention program like improved organization of work, employee training, recommended guidelines, safe recapping procedures, effective disposal systems, surveillance programs and improved equipment design.