HIV infection and surgeons.
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, which remains uniformly fatal in affected individuals. A common route of HIV transmission is via inoculation of contaminated blood, which may occur during surgical procedures. Surgeons may estimate their risk of HIV infection over a 30-year surgical career based on HIV prevalence among surgical patients, percutaneous injury rate per operation, and seroconversion rate. Surgeons can reduce their risk by various means, but the most pragmatic is by reducing the rate of percutaneous injury through optimal surgical technique and proper precautions.
Lin
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Department of Surgery, Veterans Administration Medical Center-West Los Angeles, CA 90073.
Brunicardi
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D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D013502:General Surgery; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors