title: Hepatitis B as a hazard in anaesthetic practice.
abstract: Hepatitis B is a hazard in anaesthetic practice because the virus is carried in the blood, and operative, investigative or obstetric procedures involve the shedding of blood. A list is given of classes of potential carrier, who should be tested for hepatitis B antigen (HBAg), and a procedure is outlined for minimizing the risk to staff engaged on surgical operations on hepatitis carriers. The carrier state in a patient is not regarded as a contraindication to any necessary operation, nor, in a doctor, to the practice of medicine.
mesh_terms: D000776:Anesthesiology; D002353:Carrier State; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission*; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D013523:Surgical Equipment; D013525:Surgical Instruments; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative