VanishPoint Syringe Efficacy
VanishPoint syringes feature a patented retraction mechanism integral to the design of the device. Upon full depression of the plunger handle, the needle is automatically retracted into the barrel of the syringe, reducing the risk of exposure to the contaminated needle. Unlike manually activated safety syringes, VanishPoint syringes allow for pre-removal activation of the safety mechanism, which virtually eliminates exposure to the contaminated needle, effectively reducing the risk of needlestick injuries.
Once activated, VanishPoint syringes require less disposal space than other syringes and prevent disposal-related injuries. In addition to the unique retraction mechanism, VanishPoint syringes feature an attached needle design. The integrated safety design, with attached needle, promotes user compliance by preventing removal of the safety feature and providing safety without hampering use. The attached needle design also allows for reduced deadspace.
“Health care worker exposures to bloodborne pathogens as a result of injuries caused by contaminated needles and other sharp devices, also known as percutaneous injuries, are a significant public health concern. Estimates by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put the number of sharps injuries in healthcare as well in excess of half a million each year, with about half of those injuries, or approximately 1,000 percutaneous injuries per day, occurring in U.S. hospitals. While several studies report that injuries occur frequently to nurses, physicians and technicians, housekeeping and other support staff are also at risk. As a measure of likelihood of injury among hospital workers, it has been estimated that 28 sharps injuries occur annually for every 100 occupied hospital beds.”1 Another study estimated that more than 320,000 needlestick injuries from contaminated needles occur annually among healthcare workers in the United States.2
Safety devices with automatic or semi-automatic safety mechanisms have been shown to be ten times less likely result in needlestick injuries than devices with manually activated safety mechanisms.3 ECRI Institute, which conducts evaluations of biomedical technology, has concluded that the highest level of needlestick protection occurs with safety mechanisms that are activated before the needle is removed from the patient, such as with pre-removal or automatic activations of the safety mechanism.4 ECRI has rated the VanishPoint syringe as “excellent” for safety.5 Users, including clinicians and pharmacists, rated VanishPoint syringes as having above-average usability. “An easy-to-use design can promote appropriate use of a device and its safety mechanism, thus helping to minimize needlestick injuries.”6
VanishPoint syringes have demonstrated effective needlestick reduction in a variety of healthcare settings.
- A retrospective study conducted at a mental health facility demonstrated the elimination of needlestick injuries with several interventions, including the use of VanishPoint syringes.7
- A Texas-based network of children’s primary care clinics implemented VanishPoint syringes in all 35 locations in 2004. Data obtained in 2006 showed a 0% contaminated needlestick rate.8
- An 800-bed university hospital in Australia found that the introduction of VanishPoint retractable syringes provided a “major protective benefit against NSI.”9
- Needlestick injuries rates were “significantly reduced” with the use of VanishPoint syringes, identified as “passive safety-engineered devices” (or PSED) compared to active safety-engineered devices (ASED) at a 1,250-bed US teaching hospital. “During the 30-month pre-trial ASED period, 19 NSI were reported with a rate of 2.21 NSI per 100,000 employee productive hours. During the nine-month PSED trial period, one NSI was reported with a rate of 0.42 NSI per 100,000 employee productive hours (p ≤ 0.05.) Root cause analysis of the single NSI revealed improper use of device as opposed to device failure.”10
- Syringe reuse has been identified in multiple outbreaks of bloodborne disease transmissions in the U.S. In particular, the reuse of a syringe after needle changing (i.e., removal of a contaminated needle from a contaminated syringe and replacing it with a new needle) has resulted in the spread of bloodborne diseases, such as hepatitis C virus, from one patient to another. “Changing the needle in this situation did not prevent the contamination of the vial; however, it did expose the nurse to the risk for a sharps injury and occupational disease transmission.”11 VanishPoint syringes feature an attached needle design that prevents needle changing, reducing the risk of syringe reuse.
- Results of a randomized clinical trial using VanishPoint syringes “affirmed that using syringes with retractable fixed needle safety devices neither compromise painful feelings when applying intramuscular and subcutaneous injections nor enhance the risk of bruising in case of subcutaneous applications. Thus, the use of these safety devices can be recommended in clinical practice.”12
- A medical center in Pennsylvania recorded no needlestick injuries for intramuscular, subcutaneous, and intradermal injections for a one-year period, which totaled approximately 172,980 injections, when using VanishPoint syringes.13
- During the 2006 Rubella campaign, the Minister of Health in conjunction with local UNICEF offices conducted a highly successful field trial of VanishPoint syringes in Peru. The evaluation concluded that “retractable syringes were seen as a reliable, easy to use, and a safer and faster alternative to standard disposables in the campaign setting. Safety was seen as one of the most important benefits of using the retractable syringe. The percentage of needlestick injuries reported with the use of retractable syringes versus what was reported with the use of standard disposables was significantly lower.”14
- Needlestick injuries significantly decreased in a statewide correctional system following the implementation of VanishPoint syringes for all TB skin testing, medication and insulin injections. The use of VanishPoint syringes “resulted in substantial savings, while complying with state and federal regulations.”15
1 Angela K. Laramie et al., “Sharps Injuries among Hospital Workers in Massachusetts, 2010: Findings from the Massachusetts Injury Surveillance System,” March 2012, 24 pages.
2 Terry Grimmond, FASM, BAgrSc, GrDpAdEd and Linda Good, PhD, RN, COHN-S, “EXPO-S.T.O.P.: A National Survey and Estimate of Sharps Injuries and Mucocutaneous Blood Exposures among Healthcare Workers in USA,” AOHP Journal, vol. 33, no. 4 (Fall 2013), pp. 31-36.
3 William Tosini, “Needlestick Injury Rates According to Different Types of Safety-Engineered Devices: Results of a French Multicenter Study,” Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, vol. 31, no. 4 (April 2010), pp. 402-407.
4 “Evaluation Criteria and Test Methods,” Health Devices, vol. 32, no. 9 (September 2003), ECRI, p. 340.
5 ECRI. Evaluation Background: Safety Syringes and Needles. October 2022.
6 Ibid.
7 Carolyn Squillace, MS, ANP, RN, ICN, “A Team Approach to Needlestick Injuries,” Journal of Healthcare Safety, Compliance & Infection Control, vol. 3, no. 8 (October 1999), pp. 354-356.
8 Gail J. Callas, “Eliminating Needlesticks,” Managing Infection Control, January 2008, pp. 14, 16.
9 Whitby Michael, et al, “Needlestick injuries in a major teaching hospital: The worthwhile effect of hospital-wide replacement of conventional hollow-bore needle,” AJIC, vol. 36, no. 3, April 2008, pp. 180-186.
10 AJ Goris, et al., “Reducing Needlestick Injuries from Active Safety Devices: A Passive Safety-Engineered Device Trial,” AOHP, Spring 2014, pp. 14-18.
11 “CDC Grand Rounds: Preventing Unsafe Injection Practices in the U.S. Health-Care System,” MMWR, vol. 62, no. 21 (May 2013), pp. 423-425.
12 LCR Lamblet, et al, “Randomized clinical trial to assess pain and bruising in medicines administered by means of subcutaneous and intramuscular needle injection: Is it necessary to have needles changed?” Rev. Latino-Am. Enfermagem, vol. 19, no. 5 (Sep-Oct, 2011), pp. 1063-1071.
13 Lisa Hoegg, BSN, CIC, “Needlestick Prevention: An Ongoing Journey,” November 2002, a white paper, 6 pages.
14 “Evaluation of Retractable Syringes in a Measles-Rubella Immunization Campaign in Peru,” PATH, October 2008.
15 Candice McLamb, BSN, RN, “Correctional Health Program Needlestick Safety Study,” Infection Control Today (online), July 2015, 2 pages.