Hand dexterity in hospital personnel with multiple needlestick injuries.

OBJECTIVE

To test the hypothesis that multiple needlestick injuries in hospital employees may be due to intrinsic deficits in hand dexterity.

DESIGN

A case-control study comparing employees with multiple reported needlestick injuries to those with none. Hand dexterity was tested using the Purdue Pegboard Test, a standardized validated test of hand dexterity.

SETTING

A 300-bed, acute care teaching hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifteen hospital employees who sustained four or more injuries were compared to 19 controls.

RESULTS

No differences were detected in hand dexterity between the case and control groups.

CONCLUSIONS

While employees with multiple needlestick injuries accounted for 85% of reported injuries, underlying factors responsible for injuries in this high-risk subgroup do not include measurable deficits in hand dexterity.