Conocimiento sobre el manejo de cortopunzantes en estudiantes de la Carrera de Enfermería de una Universidad de Guayaquil. Año 2025.

Abstract

Improper handling of sharps during clinical training exposes students to bloodborne viruses; in addition, quantifying knowledge allows for guiding institutional-based biosafety measures. Objective: To determine knowledge on sharps handling among nursing students at a university in Guayaquil in 2025. Methodology: A quantitative, descriptive, observational, and crosssectional study was conducted with 121 sixth- and seventh-semester students; likewise, an ad hoc questionnaire was designed based on the WHO medical literature and MSP regulations, starting with sociodemographic data; data were processed in Excel and Stata with proportions. Results: Women predominated (82.4%) and ages 18–24 years (48.8%) and 25–39 years (44.0%); On the other hand, regular use of glass ampoules (91.2%) and catheter needles (89.6%) was recorded, along with scalpels and sutures (67.2%), while butterfly instruments reached 43.2% and cannulas 25.6%, with 34.4% non-use; Likewise, contact with broken surgical material was rare (78.4% not) and broken tongue depressors were observed intermittently (49.6% "sometimes"); Regarding knowledge, 26.6% were at a regular level and 0.8% at a low level, with the majority at a high level. Conclusion: Students show high exposure to risky inputs and gaps persist that merit pedagogical reinforcement.