Ergonomic analysis and survey of sharp injuries on opening the glass ampoule

The purpose of this study was to survey the sharp injuries on opening the glass ampoules. A questionnaire was used to survey the behaviors and sharp injuries while nurses opening glass ampoules. About 90.3% of nurses reported to have experienced with sharps injuries and about 37.6% of nurses occurred more than once sharp injuries by opening the glass ampoules during recent 6 months. Results of ergonomic evaluation showed that EMG of right hand was significant lower while using the Type 1 ampoule opener. Further, lower mean dorsiflexion of right hand was found in using the ampoule openers. By contrast, there were not significant differences in EMG of left hand and wrist postures between opening methods, because the main function of left hand is holding the ampoule bottle. The ampoule openers could avoid painful and dangerous sharp injuries. In clinical effectiveness and training program will be further assessed.