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| LETTER TO EDITOR |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 2
| Issue : 2 | Page : 34-35 |
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Safe disposal of pins and wires removed from seropositive cases: An additional safety tip
Ganesh Singh Dharmshaktu
Department of Orthopaedics, Government Medical College, Haldwani, Uttarakhand, India
| Date of Submission | 19-Feb-2021 |
| Date of Acceptance | 04-Apr-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 23-Aug-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
Ganesh Singh Dharmshaktu
C/O Dr. Y.P.S. Pangtey, Ganga Vihar, Malli Bamori, Haldwani - 263 139, Uttarakhand
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/jssrp.jssrp_3_21
How to cite this article:
Dharmshaktu GS. Safe disposal of pins and wires removed from seropositive cases: An additional safety tip. J Surg Spec Rural Pract 2021;2:34-5 |
How to cite this URL:
Dharmshaktu GS. Safe disposal of pins and wires removed from seropositive cases: An additional safety tip. J Surg Spec Rural Pract [serial online] 2021 [cited 2023 Mar 31];2:34-5. Available from: http://www.jssrp.org/text.asp?2021/2/2/34/324481 |
Dear Editor,
Orthopedic trauma management requires application of pins, wires, or external fixators combining one or both extensively. The intraoperative materials used in the management of a seropositive case is disposed as per standard biomedical waste management guidelines.[1] In the follow-up, the removal of uncomplicated pins or wires projecting from the skin is done often on outpatient or daycare basis. Most of these removal procedures are quick and easily done in the minor procedure or dressing room. The removed implants are again disposed in the described and appropriate color-coded containers as per medical waste disposal protocol before reaching the incinerator.[2] Any sharp instrument whether small like syringe tip or large like orthopedic pins may jut out of the plastic waste baggage during any stage of transit to the incinerator and may injure any worker.[3] We propose a simple, quick, and inexpensive method of covering the implants for additional safety just after the removal. We have followed this method in many cases and have found it to be good adjunct to standard practice.
The method requires adhesive bandages, like Leucoplast® or Dynaplast®, that are easily available in any hospital. The pointed ends of the pins are put over the adhesive side of a piece of adhesive bandage [Figure 1]a. Another piece of the bandage is placed over it in tight and secure fashion [Figure 1]b. The pins are rolled over to make a cylinder and again wrapped by the bandage as per the requirement [Figure 1]c. This provides closure of pointed tips and exposes only blunt ends or in some cases the whole pin can be covered as per the discretion of the worker. There is however a small risk that these pins or wires, which are pointed at one or both ends, may accidentally injure a healthcare worker at any stage of transit despite adequate caution. This is done soon after the removal and before the disposal of implant to the appropriate waste container. Providing preventive protection coverage may curtail the risk of accidental injury to a fellow worker or colleague. The lesson from this example shall be beneficial in rural and resource limited environment where any technique providing added security with low cost shall be useful. Regular review of current practices and encouragement to adopt standard of care and checklists in activities with risk of occupational injury is instrumental in keeping healthcare system safe. | Figure 1: The image showing the fresh removed pins placed with pointed ends over a strip of adhesive bandage (a). Another piece of bandage securely covering the pins (b) and the whole thing rolled over itself (c) to further strengthen the coverage with partial or full coverage of pins as per the requirement
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Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Datta P, Mohi GK, Chander J. Biomedical waste management in India; Critical appraisal. J Lab Physicians 2018;10:6-14.  [ PUBMED] [Full text] |
| 2. | Kumar SR, Abinaya NV, Venkatesan A, Natrajan M. Biomedical waste disposal in India: From paper to practice, what has been effected. J Health Sci Biomed Res 2019;12:202-10. |
| 3. | Wyżgowski P, Rosiek A, Grzela T, Leksowski K. Occupational HIV risk for health care workers: Risk factor and the risk of infection in the course of professional activities. Ther Clin Risk Manag 2016;12:989-94. |
[Figure 1]
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