Uncovering high rates of unsafe injection equipment reuse in rural Cameroon: validation of a survey instrument that probes for specific misconceptions

Table 2 Supplies of syringes and needles in one health district, January to December 2009.

Hospital	Syringes and needles	Needles	Butterfly needles and canullars¹	Discrepancy between needles and syringes²	Self-reported syringe reuse
Urban public hospital	2852	700	300	24%	33%
Private hospital	22160	0	405	0%	0%
Rural public hospital 1	0	100	0	-	0%
Rural public hospital 2	100	0	50	0%	50%
Rural public hospital 3	611	0	310	0%	25%
Rural public hospital 4	927	200	250	21%	25%
District Hospital	3300	2200	2517	67%	66%
Total	29950	3200	3832	11%	36%

1. Used to secure IV lines.
2. (Total needles consumed, excluding butterfly needles and canullars-total syringes consumed) ÷ Total syringes consumed = Total syringes reused, assuming all needles consumed were used.

ISSN: 1477-7517