Cath Lab Digest - January 2008 - (Page 10)

10 CATH LAB STAFF HEALTH JANUARY 2008 continued from page 1 Ergonomic Survey Background Are ergonomic injuries in the cath lab a real problem? After 5 years of researching this issue, I think we are getting some answers. An initial review of the available data revealed that cath lab staff ergonomic injury patterns were not well identified.1 I discovered this by trying to find statistics that separated cath lab staff injuries from all other injuries in the healthcare field. I sought information about whether there in fact are injuries in the cath lab, and where and how such injuries might be reported. I began this research with the goal of developing a teaching tool to inform staff and administration of the ergonomic risks specific to the interventional field, and secondly, to help develop a modified standard for the tasks increasing the risk of repetitive stress injuries. However, the answers to these injury patterns were not easy to locate. Did I say ‘easy to locate’? I meant impossible to locate. If you read the statistics, cath lab professionals don’t have ergonomic injuries (see Table 1 as an example). Or, as was more likely, cath lab professionals were grouped together with everyone else and not pulled out to see what is happening specifically in our labs.1 My initial report, “Ergonomics in the Cath Lab (or how to save staff backs, necks, wrists…)” was published almost five years ago, in the May 2003 issue of Cath Lab Digest.2 I identified the seven ergonomic risk factors for repetitive or cumulative stress injuries (Table 2), and reviewed whether these factors were pertinent to cath lab tasks. This initial article was put together from a session called “Ergonomics” that I taught in 2002 through the HMP Communications/ Cath Lab Digest Regional Symposiums, and I drew on the work of Gary B. Orr, certified professional ergonomist (CPE), as well as from the field of physical therapy. These efforts helped spark industry interest in identifying tasks that lead to staff repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome. In the 2003 report, I made the important point that “preventative maintenance for humans is just as important as preventative maintenance is for x-ray tubes.” For example, the cost of a single staff person with carpal tunnel surgery is around $24,000 for each wrist.4 That is just the medical cost, not the additional Figure 1. This wonderful image, from Gary B. Orr, Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE), shows how the pathway of pain can go in both directions — either shooting up from the fingers or shooting down the arm from a pinched shoulder, wrist or elbow. The lead we wear compresses the shoulder joint, and manual compression and data entry can damage the carpal tunnel. cost of replacing that person with another staff member, nor the loss of leave to the injured staff, nor the pain and suffering that the person and their family faces when faced with a debilitating, often permanent, injury. Perhaps you also have seen coworkers with injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, lumbar and cervical neck injuries, cataracts, breast cancer, and hip pain, and like me, wondered if the injury had a connection to our tasks. If there is even a possibility of that such injuries are caused by our work, it is important to identify what is hurting cath lab professionals, and what we can do to decrease the number of future injuries. I knew there were nurses and technologists getting hurt at work. I saw them. I watched them go through physical therapy and surgery. Where and how were these injuries reported? The U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and National Center for Health Statistics have statistics available from the 1990’s which show: 1. The annual cost of work-related injuries to workers’ compensation was more than 20 billion dollars. 2. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly twothirds of ALL occupational illnesses were caused by repetitive-use injury to the wrist, elbow or shoulder, with carpal tunnel syndrome being the chief occupational hazard of the 1990’s. Table 1. Table 2. Occupational Risk Factors3 Position and Posture Repetition Excessive Force Contact Stressors Hand/Arm Vibration Cold Work Environment Duration Inadequate recovery time increases risk of injury and the need for medical treatment.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cath Lab Digest - January 2008

Cath Lab Digest - January 2008 Central Baptist Hospital Contrast Media Use in High-Risk Patients An Ergonomic Survey of Cath Lab Repetitive Stress Injuries Contents Clinical Editor’s Corner Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy, a.k.a., Transient Left Ventricular Apical Ballooning Syndrome: An Acute Coronary Syndrome Imposter Searching for the Key to D2B STEMI Intervention News STEMI Interventions: Commentary The Massachusetts Stent Study The Value of Educating Staff Ask the Clinical Instructor: A Q&A Column for Those New to the Cath Lab SICP* Chapter Updates The Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals Holds an RCIS Review Course at New Cardiovascular Horizons 18:20 To Denver — One Student’s First Clinical Experience CEU Education Center Meetings Calendar What Do You Think? Clinical & Industry News Classifieds The Ten-Minute Interview with…Heather Vardon, RN Advertisers Index

Cath Lab Digest - January 2008

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