Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus in the trauma emergency room.
Over 55,000 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infections had been reported to the German Federal Health Council as of December 1992. More than 60% of a total of over 9000 overt AIDS cases has arisen in the five largest urban areas. Patients with open wounds represent a daily risk of contamination for emergency room personnel. In addition to surgical treatment and after written informed consent, we conducted HIV-antibody studies on patients with open wounds in the trauma emergency room of the University Hospital Eppendorf over a period of 6 months. Of 286 patients 220 (77%) consented to the study, and 6 HIV infections were found, corresponding to a prevalence of 2.7%.
Department of Trauma Surgery, University Hospital Eppendorf, University of Hamburg, Germany.
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G
Fröschle
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Uner
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Wening
D015492:AIDS Serodiagnosis; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery