Stun Gun Darts and the Potential for Needlestick-like Injuries to Emergency Responders

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Stun Gun devices, while reportedly responsible for improving public safety and the safety of police officers in the past several years, have a largely under-reported safety flaw which puts emergency medical workers at increasing risk of life-threatening injuries occurring during the removal of expended darts.

Prior to the development of the D.A.R.T. Pro tool and X-TRACTOR Tips, there were no tools on the market specifically designed to prevent needlestick-type injuries incurred when police officers or medical personnel handle stun-gun darts. Often workers must pull the darts out by hand or use pliers or forceps to remove them from unruly subjects, heightening the risk of a blood infection to the workers. The darts have been sometimes stored in a plastic bag, again putting handlers at risk.

The cost to public agencies to test and treat personnel who may have been infected by bloodborne pathogens could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. The use of the D.A.R.T. Pro with the attached X-TRACTOR Tip eliminates the risk.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) bloodborne pathogens standard specifies the engineering controls, such as safer medical devices, which must be used to reduce or eliminate worker exposure.

A recent revision includes new requirements regarding an employer's Exposure Control Plan, including an annual review and update to reflect changes in technology that eliminate or reduce exposure to bloodborne pathogens.

The employer must:

1. take into account innovations in medical procedure and technological developments that reduce the risk of exposure (e.g., newly available medical devices designed to reduce needlesticks) and

2. document consideration and use of appropriate, commercially-available, and effective safer devices (e.g., describe the devices identified as candidates for use, the method(s) used to evaluate those devices, and justification for the eventual selection

No one medical device is considered appropriate or effective for all circumstances. Employers must select devices that, based on reasonable judgment will not jeopardize patient or employee safety or be medically inadvisable, and will make an exposure incident involving a contaminated sharp less likely to occur.

Employers must solicit input from non-managerial employees responsible for direct patient care regarding the identification, evaluation, and selection of effective engineering controls, including safer medical devices. Employees selected should represent the range of exposure situations encountered in the workplace, such as those in geriatric, pediatric, or nuclear medicine, and others involved in direct care of patients.

OSHA will check for compliance with this provision during inspections by questioning a representative number of employees to determine if and how their input was requested.

Employers are required to document, in the Exposure Control Plan, how they received input from employees. This obligation can be met by listing the employees involved and describing the process by which input was requested or presenting other documentation, including references to the minutes of meetings, copies of documents used to request employee participation, or records of responses received from employees.

Employers who have employees who are occupationally exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials, and who are required to maintain a log of occupational injuries and illnesses under existing recordkeeping rules, must also maintain a sharps injury log. That log will be maintained in a manner that protects the privacy of employees. At a minimum, the log will contain the following: the type and brand of device involved in the incident, location of the incident (e.g., department or work area), and description of the incident. The sharps injury log may include additional information as long as an employee's privacy is protected. The format of the log can be determined by the employer.

 At any given time, almost 10 percent of the emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics in the United States miss work because of injuries and illnesses they suffered on the job.

 In one year, an estimated 8.1 of every 100 emergency responders will suffer an injury or illness forcing them to miss work. Compared to data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of injuries requiring work absence among these first responders far exceeds the national average of 1.3 per 100 lost-work injury cases reported in 2006.

 About 900,000 certified emergency medical services professionals responded to more than 17 million calls in 2005. The most common injuries these professionals suffer are exposure to blood-borne pathogens from needle sticks

 It is estimated a thousand health care professionals are injured each day as the result of hospital accidents involving needles or other sharp objects, according to the Center of Disease Control (CDC). Source: American Nurses Association.

 Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of U.S. nurses say needlestick injuries and blood borne infections remain major concerns.

 Sixty-four percent of nurses report being accidentally stuck by a needle while working.

 Among those nurses reporting needlestick injuries, a staggering 74 percent have been stuck by a contaminated needle while working. In 2008, more than one-third (35 percent) reported two or more contaminated needlesticks over the course of their career.

 While the overwhelming majority of nurses (91 percent) are familiar with their workplace’s protocol regarding needlestick injuries, 79 percent of those accidentally stuck by a needle while working say they reported the incident, compared to 83 percent in 2006.

 Nearly half (46 percent) of those who have been stuck say, during their most recent needlestick injury, they received an evaluation or were treated within one to two hours; yet more than one- third (39 percent) state they were not evaluated or treated at all.

 Ninety-five percent of nurses report taking a Hepatitis B vaccine to protect them from Hepatitis B infection due to occupational exposure.

Only the D.A.R.T. Pro complies with OSHA regulations promulgated to reduce the risk of needlestick injuries. According to OSHA, devices designed to reduce needlestick injuries must have …
• A fixed safety feature to provide a barrier between the hands and the needle after use; the feature should allow or require the worker's hands to remain behind the needle at all times.
• The safety feature as an integral part of the device, and not an accessory.
• The safety feature in effect before disassembly and remaining in effect after disposal, to protect users and trash handlers, and for environmental safety.
• The safety feature as simple as possible, and requiring little or no training to use effectively.
For more information, please contact nathanielclevenger@gmail.com, 503.753.2120. Provided by Global Pathogen Solutions. All Rights Reserved. www.globalpathogensolutions.com.