Monitoring of AES in healthcare facilities. The role and importance of safety equipment

The AES Raisin/Geres surveillance system relies on the voluntary participation of healthcare facilities, where every AES reported to the occupational physician is documented on a voluntary, anonymous, and standardized basis. In 2010, 17,039 adverse events were recorded in 810 healthcare facilities, representing a total of 254,730 hospital beds. By extrapolation, it is estimated that nearly 29,132 adverse events were reported in 2010 to occupational physicians across all French healthcare facilities. The average age of victims is 33.3 ± 10.3 years, with a sex ratio of 3 men to 13 women. Sixty percent of AES cases are reported by paramedical staff. Eight out of 10 documented AES incidents are percutaneous injuries, primarily caused by needle sticks. After eight years of operation of the AES Raisin network, and by comparing data from 2004 and 2010, we can estimate that the number of AES incidents has been reduced by just under a quarter in France between these two periods across all participating facilities. This surveillance and the collected data also reveal a growing proportion of safety equipment ordered by facilities, regardless of the medical device in question, with a trend toward making more procedures safer over the years. This monitoring confirms the value of safety equipment; its use appears significantly associated with a lower risk of accidents per procedure. Overall, while a downward trend in accident incidence has been observed over time regardless of the equipment used—illustrating the positive impact of the training and information campaigns conducted year after year—the use of safety equipment further reduces this residual risk. (R.A.)

Author(s): Floret N, Abiteboul D, Ayzac L, Bervas C, Bouvet E, Jarno P, L'heriteau F, Pellissier G, Poujol I, Vignaud MC, Rabaud C

Publishing year: 2012

Pages: 7 p.

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