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Abstract
Background. Surgical personnel are at risk of contracting blood-borne diseases through exposure
to patients' blood. Exposure rates for each surgical subspeciality have not been previously
reported. The purpose of this study was to determine the rates of exposure to patients'
blood for operating room personnel.
Methods. The study was conducted at Yale-New Haven Hospital, a level I trauma center and tertiary
care hospital. During a 3-month period, exposed personnel were interviewed by a study
nurse immediately after a cutaneous exposure to blood or after a sharp injury.
Results. During 2292 surgical procedures, 70 sharp injuries and 168 cutaneous exposures to
blood were reported. The combined exposure rate (skin contact and sharp injury) was
10.4 per 100 procedures (95% confidence interval, 9.1 to 11.6) and ranged from 21.2
for general surgery to 3.3 for pediatric surgery (goodness-of-fit chi-squared, p < 0.001). The combined exposure rates were also significantly different among types
of surgery and ranged from 18 for laparotomies to 4.3 for craniotomies (chi-squared,
p < 0.001). The overall sharp injury rate was 3.1 per 100 procedures (95% confidence
interval, 2.3 to 3.8) and ranged from 4.3 for general surgery to 1.3 for vascular
surgery.
Conclusions. The rate of exposure to blood for operating room personnel, which differ from prior
studies, was 10.4 per 100 procedures and was highest for general surgical procedures.
The differences in rates among studies might be attributable to different surgical
technique, dissimilar case-mix, or different research methods relating to definition
or ascertainment of exposure.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
August 16,
1992
Footnotes
☆Supported by the Department of Surgery, Yale University.
☆☆Part of this study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Orthopedic Surgeons, Washington, DC, Feb. 24, 1992.
Identification
Copyright
© 1993 Published by Elsevier Inc.
