Safety Syringe Designs & Criteria
The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act and subsequent revisions in OSHA’s enforcement procedures have led to a dramatic increase in the use of safety needle products and syringes. In acute care settings, the use of medical safety devices and syringes has grown from an estimated 46 percent in 2002 to 79 percent in 2005. At alternate healthcare sites, usage has increased from an estimated 35 percent in 2002 to 45 percent in 2005.1 Since the law was enacted, studies have shown that syringes with a safety needle and other safety features significantly reduce the frequency of needlestick injuries.
However, medical safety devices do not completely eliminate the risk of needlestick injuries and reasons may include:
- Clinician fails to activate the safety feature
- Clinician bypasses the safety needle feature
- Safety needle feature fails
Additional Details Regarding Medical Safety Devices
To date, the growing U.S. demand for medical safety devices has been met primarily by traditional devices that are retro-fitted with add-on pieces, such as sheaths, shields or caps. While these syringes meet the legislation’s requirements, they can place the clinician’s fingers dangerously close to the exposed needle and, therefore, are considered unsatisfactory by many end-users.
In a 2006 Study of Needlestick Injuries and Safety Devices, an overwhelming 96% of nurses believe there is room for improvement in the design of current safety syringes. In particular, 65% of nurses in the survey felt retro-fitted safety syringes were not the best way to design a safety syringe. Here are the characteristics nurses would design into improved medical safety devices2:
The new InviroSNAP! Safety Syringe delivers all of these design characteristics. The InviroSNAP! Safety Syringe represents a significant departure from retro-fitted medical safety devices. Developed by a practicing nurse and surgeon from the ground up as a safety syringe, the InviroSNAP! features an engineered and integral safety mechanism which is intuitive and easy-to-use, and that keeps clinicians fingers and hand behind the safety needle. Once activated, the needle is retracted manually into the barrel and the syringe is permanently disabled.
Learn more about safety needle and syringe selection criteria.
1 "Success Noted in Adoption of Sharps Injury Prevention Devices: But Gaps Remain," Safety Share, Dec. 05, Premier Safety Institute
2 2006 Study of Needlestick Injuries and Safety Devices, U.S. Nurses, Inviro Medical