AORN 2026 Survey Results Reveal Sharps Crisis – Practical Steps to Reduce Injuries with Safety Scalpels

May 12, 2026

By: Cheryl Yi, VP of Sales and Marketing

MediPurpose’s latest survey shows a disturbing trend: widespread scalpel injuries yet limited availability of safety scalpels.

Safety Scalpels Are Not Readily Available To Surgical Staff

While scalpel-related risks are inherent in the OR, many facilities still don’t offer the choice to use safety scalpels.

As we discussed in our previous post, Embracing Change – Introducing Better Safety Scalpels to Facilities, 62% to 88% of sharps injuries can be prevented simply by using safer medical devices. However, facility managers are not providing their medical staff with surgical scalpels in order to increase adoption and decrease sharps injuries. The lack of safety scalpels in facilities can put employees at risk of sharps injuries and serious diseases, such as HIV and Hepatitis, from blood-borne pathogens.

AORN 2026 Conference Survey

At the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) 2026 Conference, held on April 11-14, 2026, attendees participated in evidence-based education, hands-on clinical training, and networking, focusing on perioperative safety and technological innovations.

In our continuing effort to gain consumer insight, Medipurpose surveyed 2026 AORN Conference attendees to find out their views on safety scalpels. The poll included 80 professionals from 68 different facilities. 

This latest survey revealed that many facilities are still not on board when it comes to adopting safety scalpels. Here are some key highlights of the findings:

  • An alarming 92.5% of respondents reported witnessing or personally experiencing a sharps injury, with 67.1% of those injuries happening to surgical technicians or nurses.
  • Despite their experiences with sharps injuries, 66.3% reported their facility does not use safety scalpels.
  • Only 37.5% said their facility is evaluating safety scalpels as a solution.

The poll yielded similar results to previous Medipurpose surveys:

  • In the ACS 2016 study, 65% of respondents stated that their facility does not use safety scalpels.
  • The ASCA 2016 survey showed 69% of respondents had witnessed a scalpel related injury yet 61% of respondents stated that their facilities did not use safety scalpels.
  • The AORN 2017 survey of more than 200 nurses revealed that 83% of OR nurses had personally witnessed a scalpel-related injury, yet only 33% reported that safety scalpels were used at their facility.

New and Improved Safety Scalpels Will Transform OR Safety

Not only must safety scalpels be readily available in their facilities, but end users must be comfortable using them. As we learned in our previous surveys, the majority of surgeons are willing to try a safety scalpel as long as it has similar characteristics to a traditional scalpel.

The new survey confirmed what we’ve been saying for several years: new and improved safety scalpels can address the problem. That is why MediPurpose has continually conducted surveys to gather consumer insight. It is an integral part of testing and developing the Anzen™ safety scalpel. This knowledge has made it possible to design a new generation of safety scalpels -providing a device that delivers important safety features, while addressing the needs of surgeons at the same time.

The survey insights enable MediPurpose to help educate decision-makers on the importance of adopting safety scalpels. It is through these initiatives that MediPurpose seeks to transform surgical safety in operating rooms across the industry.