Abstract
The scourge of HIV infection and AIDS has finally dawned on us in this environment with myths surrounding its existence fading out and the reality of the situation staring at us with the increasing number of patients testing positive. Surgeons are particularly at the receiving end and hence there is need to enforce necessary precautionary measures aimed at maintaining increased safety when operating on patients. Most government hospitals in Nigeria do not have an articulated policy to address this issue. The risk of patients-to-surgeon transmission is dependent on the prevalence of HIV in the patients population. This has been estimated as roughly a one in 800 chance in Europeans or Americans working in high prevalence inner cities over a 30-year career. However in Africa where the prevalence is much higher it has been estimated to be as high as one in four in a similar career risk. There is also controversy surrounding mandatory HIV screening before surgery with most publications opposing it but advising surgeons to take all necessary precautions particularly in endemic regions. This study was done to determine the prevalence of HIV infections among patients undergoing surgery in St Louis Hospital Owo Ondo State Nigeria a Catholic Mission-owned hospital. (excerpt)
Published Version
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