The CSPS endorses sharps safety measures to prevent injury during perioperative care. Sharps safety measures should include double-gloving, blunt suture needles for fascial closure, and the neutral zone when appropriate to avoid hand to hand passage of sharps. (Adopted 7.15.07, Modified 2.5.09)

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Workbook for Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating a Sharps Injury Prevention Program

• University of Virginia Health System: List of Safety-Engineered Sharp Devices

• AORN Recommended Practices of Sharps Safety Slideshow

• American College of Surgeons (ACS) Statement on Sharps Safety

• Association of Surgical Technologists (AST) Guideline Statement for the Implementation of the Neutral Zone in the Perioperative Environment

• AST: Recommended Standards of Practice for Gowning and Gloving

• International Safety Center Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet®) Injury and Exposure Data

• International Safety Center. 2020 Consensus Statement and Call to Action Moving the Sharps Safety in Healthcare Agenda Forward in the United States.

• Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Needlesticks and other sharps injuries data and statistics.

• NIOSH Bloodborne Infectious Diseases

• NIOSH Stop Sticks Campaign

• NIOSH Selecting, Evaluating and Using Sharps Disposal Containers