Surgery and AIDS

Abstract

The cumulative risk of occupationally acquired infection after exposure of surgical personnel to blood is dependent on three factors: (1) the frequency and types of hazardous exposure encountered, (2) the risk of infection transmission associated with discrete exposures, and (3) the prevalence of blood-borne infections in the surgical patient population. In this issue, Panlilio et al 1 provide descriptive data quantifying the frequency and types of intraoperative exposure encountered at Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Ga. Their findings are remarkably consistent with the results of similar studies reported from San Francisco, Calif, and Albuquerque, NM. 2,3 Together, data from these three studies demonstrate unequivocally that occupational exposure to blood is a frequent occurrence. The data also provide strong evidence that a significant proportion of surgical exposures can and should be prevented. In the reported observational studies, percutaneous blood exposure occurred in 1.7% to 4.9% of surgical cases. 1-3 Estimating the risk