Ongoing Use of Conventional Devices and Safety Device Activation Rates in Hospitals in Ontario, Canada

Abstract

This study assessed voluntary compliance with the use of sharp safety devices in lieu of conventional ones and the activation status of these safety devices: VanishPoint syringes, Terumo Surshield butterflies, and Insyte Autoguard IV catheters. Sharps disposal containers from various wards in three private, not-for profit, university-affiliated Ontario hospitals were audited during 9 days in August 2007. In the 149 audited sharps containers, 55% of all syringes found were conventional compared with 45% that were safety syringes. In the three hospitals, the percentages of conventional (non-safety) vs. safety syringes found in used sharps containers were as follows, respectively: (i) 72% conventional and 28% safety, (ii) 55% conventional and 45% safety, and (iii) 65% conventional and 35% safety. In addition, it was found that 77% of 2131 Terumo butterflies, 97% of 1117 Insyte Autoguard IV catheters, and 87% of 4897 VanishPoint syringes in the containers had been activated. This study, carried out approximately 1 year before it was legally required to use safety instead of sharp conventional devices, found that most devices in use were conventional ones. It was also found that only the activation rate for the safety IV device was acceptable.

Frequency of use and activation of safety-engineered sharps devices: a sharps container audit in five Australian capital cities

“…18 Based on BBP transmission risk, Stringer and Haines proposed that an 'acceptable' phlebotomy and IV SED activation rate should be 100% or close to it, whereas syringe SED activation rates should be 90% or greater. 8 Such activation levels were not evident in this study. Accepting that not all procedures have SED available, and that education is essential in SI prevention, the dependence on manual activation of SED plays a major part in SI.…”

“…15 Following SED legislation in Canada the non-SED syringe proportion was shown to drop from 56 to 7%. 8,10 However, SED-specific legislation is not the complete answer. This is illustrated by the fact that following the immediate reduction in SI with the SED law in the USA, 15 the incidence of SI has failed to fall further in the decade since, 1 and a similar pattern was documented immediately following SED legislation in British Columbia.…”

“…7 Monitoring of SED activation rates can only effectively be achieved by decanting SC contents and counting activated and non-activated devices under controlled environments. 8 No published studies of Australian SC contents audits were found in the literature and this paper presents the first national study of SC contents.…”

Safety-engineered intravenous catheter utilization among Canadian pediatric anesthesiologists

“…The true SEIC adoption rates may be lower than those reported as suggested by previous studies in settings where both SEICs and traditional catheters were available. 39 In conclusion, implementing safety-engineered medical devices is a key component to reducing BBP transmission among health care workers. Canadian pediatric anesthesiologists are increasingly adopting SEICs in provinces where they are legislated.…”

Chinks in the Armor: Activation Patterns of Hollow-Bore Safety-Engineered Sharp Devices

“…3 It is important to note, however, that SESDs will still cause a residual fraction of injuries. Although these residual injuries occur most frequently during use of the item or during activation of the safety mechanism, 4 Mendelson 5 found that 21% of injuries from SESDs occur after use when an available but unengaged SESD could have prevented the injury. Activation rates of SESDs described in the literature range from 17% to 98% depending on the facility in which the devices were implemented and the type of device used.…”