The HIV-infected health care worker: another AIDS policy conundrum

To ascertain the degree of patient risk for acquiring HIV from an infected health care worker, several key questions have arisen: Beyond a single dental practice, has there been doctor-to-patient HIV transmission; are some procedures inherently more dangerous to patients than others; can HIV be transmitted despite good technique and universal precautions; is hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission from physician to patient a relevant model for HIV transmission; is operator skill and technique as much or more of a factor in the risk for transmission than the nature of the procedure itself? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released recommendations about HIV-infected health care workers last year....The CDC proposed that sufficient data existed to declare that certain procedures were "exposure-prone," that is, that transmission of HIV to a patient could occur despite good technique and proper precautions.... Because of the major concerns expressed by many medical specialty societies, the CDC has indicated plans to review and revise the recommendations.