Needlestick injuries and other body substance exposures among police officers in a city police department

Background We determined the incidence and circumstances of needlestick injuries and other body substance exposures among police officers in a city police department. Methods We analyzed data extracted from the city's centralized human resource database on all incidents from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2016, and characterized their circumstances. We calculated the annual incidence of needlestick injuries per 1,000 officers and per 10,000 reactive calls. We ran a Poisson regression model to determine the trend in the annual incidence over time. Results We found 13 needlestick injuries and 37 additional body substance exposures involving city police officers. Needlestick injuries most commonly occurred during pat-down searches and searches of property or vehicles; 9 source persons tested positive for hepatitis C. The annual incidence of needlestick injuries ranged from 0-5.1 per 1,000 police officers and from 0-2.5 per 10,000 reactive calls for service without a significant trend. Most body substance exposures consisted of spitting, human bites, and other contact with blood. No incidents reportedly led to transmission of bloodborne viruses. Conclusions Although these appear to be rare events, police officers in this department are at risk for needlestick injuries and other body substance exposures. We recommended engineering, administrative, and personal protective equipment control improvements.