Occupational blood exposure and HIV infection among oral and maxillofacial surgeons.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Occupational blood exposure and HIV infection among oral and maxillofacial surgeons.

Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 1998 Feb;85(2):128-34. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/98164185
Gooch BF; Siew C; Cleveland JL; Gruninger SE; Lockwood SA; Joy ED; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga., USA.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine occupational blood exposure and the seroprevalence of HIV infection among oral and maxillofacial surgeons. STUDY DESIGN: Three hundred twenty-one oral and maxillofacial surgeons attending an annual meeting voluntarily and anonymously participated in an HIV serosurvey and completed a questionnaire assessing practice and demographic factors. Statistical tests included the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and the chi-squared test. RESULTS: Eighty percent of those who completed the survey reported one or more blood-skin contacts within the previous month. The mean number of percutaneous injuries within the previous year was 2.36 +/- 0.2. Wire was most commonly associated with percutaneous injuries. Oral maxillofacial surgeons who reported three or more percutaneous injuries performed more fracture reductions than oral and maxillofacial surgeons reporting no percutaneous injuries (p < 0.01). No participant was HIV-positive; the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval was 1.15%. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the occupational risk for HIV infection in oral surgery is very low even though most oral and maxillofacial surgeons experienced blood contact. Associations of percutaneous injuries with fracture reductions and wire may assist in the development of new techniques and equipment to minimize blood exposures.

Keywords: *HIV Infections/TRANSMISSION *Occupational Exposure *Surgery, Oral
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