Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press; 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020 - Wednesday, November 19, 1997; 5:21 p.m. EST
A study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms the wisdom of this approach, which is already widely used in hospitals where such exposures occasionally occur.
The results also give new ammunition to those who suggest morning-after treatment for people who get exposed to HIV through other means, such as sex or sharing drug equipment.
The risk to health care workers who suffer needle jabs and other exposures to contaminated blood is small. On average, about 0.3 percent of exposures lead to infection.
For many years, hospital personnel routinely took AZT -- the oldest AIDS drug -- after such accidents.
Data published in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrate just how well this works: it cuts infection by 81 percent.
The CDC has changed its recommendations for post-exposure treatment as new medicines have become available. It now suggests a combination of the drugs AZT and 3TC for lower risk exposures, such as blood splashes. It says those two, plus a protease inhibitor called indinavir, should be taken by workers who are accidentally stuck with HIV-tainted needles.
The study, directed by Dr. Denise M. Cardo, was based on a review of 33 health care workers in the United States, Italy, France and Great Britain who caught the human immunodeficiency virus on the job. They were compared with 665 who were exposed but didn't get infected.
The study found the biggest risk occurs after exposure to larger amounts of infected blood, such as during deep cuts or accidents with needles that have been placed in infected people's arteries or veins.
In an editorial in the journal, Dr. David K. Henderson of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., said after-the-fact treatment "may be a reasonable option after any type of exposure to HIV."
Copyright 1997/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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Copyright © 1997 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
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