A Case–Control Study of HIV Seroconversion in Health Care Workers after Percutaneous Exposure

Abstract

The risk of HIV infection after percutaneous exposure increases with a larger volume of blood and, probably, a higher titer of HIV in the source patient's blood. Postexposure prophylaxis with zidovudine appears to be protective.

Safety-engineered intravenous catheter utilization among Canadian pediatric anesthesiologists

“…Even though only a small number were at high risk for BBP transmission (i.e., hollow-bore needles filled with blood), 27 one should not be complacent because any injury can create a portal of entry for infection from body fluids. 28,29 The reluctance to adopt safety-engineered medical devices is unfortunate because it may put one at increased risk of infection with the hepatitis C virus, the greatest concern for anesthesiologists managing children or adults.…”

Croatian Recommendations for Dialysis of HIV-Positive Patients

“…Administration of dialysis to patients infected with HIV increases the risk of sharps injuries, particularly needlesticks. The risk of seroconversion after a needlestick involving exposure to the blood of a HIV-positive patient is 0.3%, while the risks for hepatitis B and C are considerably higher, 2% for HCV and 6-30% for HBV [16,[18][19][20]. HIV, like HBV and HCV, does not pass through intact skin and the airborne transmission of this virus has not been confirmed.…”

“…Contacts via broken skin, blood splashes on the mucous membranes and other forms of mucocutaneous incidents rarely result in seroconversion and infection [16]. In a retrospective study by Cardo et al [19], the risk factors increasing the transmission of HIV infection after percutaneous exposure were deep injury, injury with a device that was visibly contaminated with blood, injury with a device that had previously been placed in the source patient's vein and the death of the source patient two months after the percutaneous incident. These factors are probably surrogate markers of viral inoculum.…”

Human immunodeficiency virus and assisted reproduction: reconsidering evidence, reframing ethics

“…In addition to type of contact and body fluid or tissue involved, exposure to larger quantities of blood from an HIV source and/or exposure to a patient with late-stage disease (probably reflecting exposure to higher viral loads and/or more virulent viral strains) increases the risk of transmission (78).…”

“…If exposure to HIV occurs, the use of postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) with zidovudine has been shown to limit the risk of transmission (78), although cases of ZDV PEP failure have been reported (79). Current recommendations for PEP are to use a two or three antiretroviral drug combination based on level of HIV transmission risk and possibility of drug resistance in the source patient.…”