• Title/Summary/Keyword: Safety-engineered device

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Elimination of Lancet-Related Needlestick Injuries Using a Safety-Engineered Lancet: Experience in a Hospital

  • An, Hye-sun;Ko, Suhui;Bang, Ji Hwan;Park, Sang-Won
    • Infection and chemotherapy
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    • v.50 no.4
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    • pp.319-327
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    • 2018
  • Background: Lancet-related needlestick injuries (NSIs) occur steadily in clinical practices. Safety-engineered devices (SEDs) can systematically reduce NSIs. However, the use of SEDs is not active and no study to guide the implementation of SEDs was known in South Korea. The lancet-related NSIs may be eliminated to zero incidence using a SED lancet with effective sharp injury protection and reuse prevention features. Materials and Methods: We implemented a SED lancet by replacing a conventional prick lancet in a tertiary hospital in a sequential approach. A spot test of the new SED was conducted for 1 month to check the acceptability in practice and a questionnaire survey was obtained from the healthcare workers (HCWs). A pilot implementation of the SED lancet in 2 wards was made for 1 year. Based on these preliminary interventions, a hospital-wide full implementation of the SED lancet was launched. The incidence of NSIs and cost expenditure before and after the intervention were compared. Results: There were 29 cases of conventional prick lancet-related NSIs for 3 years before the full implementation of SED lancet. The proportion of prick lancet-related NSIs among yearly all kinds of NSIs during two years before the pilot study was average 11.7% (22/188). Pre-interventional baseline incidence of all kinds of NSIs was 7.01 per 100 HCW-years. After the full implementation of SED lancet, the lancet-related NSIs became zero in the 2nd year (P = 0.001). The average direct cost of 18,393 US dollars (USD) per year from device and post-exposure medical care before the intervention rose to 20,701 USD in the 2nd year of the intervention. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was 210 USD per injury avoided. Conclusion: The implementation of a SED lancet could eliminate the lancet-related NSIs to zero incidence. The cost increase incurred by the use of SED lancet was tolerable.

A Study on ASET Elongation & Notification Time to Fire Stations for the Escape Safety of Aged Bedridden Patients in Elderly Long-term Medical Care (노인의료복지시설 화재 시 와상노인의 피난안전성 제고를 위한 피난허용시간 연장과 소방기관으로의 통보시간 연구)

  • Park, Hyung-Joo;Lee, Young-Jae
    • Fire Science and Engineering
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    • v.32 no.4
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    • pp.50-59
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    • 2018
  • Recently, huge life losses occurred in the elderly long-term medical care fires due to lack of escape safety. As part of the measures to enhance the effectiveness of fire escape safety, while they prolong the available safe egress time (ASET) of non fire compartments, a measure to shorten fire-fighter's arrival time by fire alarm notifying device should be implemented in these facilities. The four categories from the aspects of fire prevention/protection engineering were provided with the necessary component technologies for carrying out these helper-guided evacuations. Fire prevention engineered technology was presented by two provisions; one for ensuring small compartment sections by installing the fire rated wall between bed rooms and another for ensuring the fire retardant or/and non-flammable performance of finishing materials. Also fire protection engineered technology was presented by two items; one for imposing cooling effects by sprinklers and another for providing automatic fire alarm notifying functions to fire stations. In order to improve the escape safety of these facilities in Korea, alternative revisions may presented by considering insufficient provisions in the architectural/fire law provisions by analyzing the provisions of Japanese and domestic laws in detail.