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Management of the Healthcare Worker Infected With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Lessons From Nosocomial Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 June 2016
Extract
Since acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was first recognized and reported in 1981, more than 175,000 persons with AIDS have been reported to public health departments in the United States.’ Despite advances in therapy, the median survival following the diagnosis of AIDS is approximately two years.” The dramatic increase in AIDS cases and their continued poor prognosis has resulted in great public concern regarding the risks of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from infected healthcare workers to patients.
The report of probable transmission of HIV infection from a dentist to five patients”” has lead in part to the recent publication of recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the prevention of nosocomial transmission of HIV during exposure-prone invasive procedures from infected healthcare workers to patients.” In brief, these recommendations entail the following: all healthcare workers should adhere to Universal Precautions (UP); healthcare workers who perform exposure-prone invasive procedures should know their HIV status but testing should be on a voluntary basis; and healthcare workers testing positive for HIV or hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B “e” antigen (HBeAg) should not perform exposure-prone procedures unless cleared by an expert panel, and then only with informed consent of their patients.
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- Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1991
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