for providing helpful comments on a previous version of this article. We also thank Anders Johanson, who developed the TIDE 2 software used in this study.

Given the societal and economic impact of perioperative infection, it is essential that anesthesiologists and other operating room personnel use appropriate precautions to reduce the potential for transmission of infectious agents to the patients under their care. This study, therefore, was designed to evaluate the degree to which anesthesiologists utilize appropriate hygienic techniques for the prevention of infection in the perioperative period. A total of 1149 questionnaires were mailed to anesthesiologists randomly selected from the membership of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). Of these, 493 (44%) were completed and returned. Forty-nine percent and 75.3% of respondents always used gloves and masks, respectively, in their everyday practice. Only 58% of respondents stated that they always washed their hands after every patient contact and 85% reported that they always used aseptic technique for placing indwelling catheters. Knowledge of universal precautions for prevention of occupational transmission of infection was associated with good hygienic practice. Twenty percent of the respondents reported frequently or always reusing syringes for more than one patient and 34.4% reported never or rarely disinfecting the septum of multidose vials prior to use. The practice of reusing syringes was significantly greater among private than university practitioners (P < 0.01). On a scale of 0-10 (10 = high) anesthesiologists rated their potential for transmitting or contributing to patient potential for transmitting or contributing to patient infection as 4.7 +/- 0.12 (mean +/- SE). Results of this study suggest that, whereas most responding anesthesiologists exhibit appropriate infection control behaviors, there are several potentially hazardous practices that continue.

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Background: Postanesthesia care unit (PACU) nurses' compliance with the guidelines for prevention of exposure to HIV, hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV, HCV), and tuberculosis (TB) were evaluated. Method: A questionnaire was administered to 34 adult and pediatric PACU nurses at a large, tertiary care medical center. Results: Eighty-one percent (n = 26) of respondents reported they always complied with the guidelines when caring for a HIV-infected or HBV-infected patient, but only 31.3% (n = 10) complied when the patient was considered low risk (p < .05). The most commonly cited reasons for noncompliance were no anticipated blood contact (53.6%, n = 15 ) or being too busy (25%, n = 10). Nineteen percent (n = 6) of PACU nurses reported at least one clean needlestick, and 16.1% (n = 5) reported a contaminated needlestick within the previous 12 months. One nurse reported having acquired active TB from a patient contact. Conclusion: Results suggest that, although the PACU nurses surveyed reported knowledge of the standard guidelines, this was not always reflected in their practice. Identification of barriers to compliance may be important in developing educational strategies to reduce the risk to nurses.