Many of the supplies used to control diabetes are being poorly disposed of, warns a study that included the participation of researchers from CINTESIS/Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP).
Entitled “Medical sharps in Portugal: a cross-sectional survey of disposal practices among the diabetic population“, this study surveyed nearly 1500 diabetics in four municipalities in northern Portugal.
“According to the study, 68.1% of needles or devices with needles and 71.6% of lancets were disposed of in the regular garbage and less than 20% of the same materials were properly delivered to health institutions,” can be read on the FMUP website.
The authors, cited in the news, consider that “the management of the by-products of diabetes treatment should be an urgent concern and deserve the attention of the scientific community and health authorities.”
The study is authored by Ana Luísa Corte-Real, Leonor Luz Duarte, Ana Luísa Teixeira, Maria Vaz Cunha, Catarina Calheno Rebelo, Ana Correia de Azevedo, João Mário Pinto, Andreia Faria, Sofia Sacramento, Filipa Machado, Daniel Martinho-Dias and Tiago Taveira-Gomes.
Source: www.med-up.pt