Attitudes of cardiothoracic surgeons in the UK to human immunodeficiency virus

A survey was carried out into attitudes of cardiothoracic surgeons in the UK to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection associated with clinical situations that would normally have been managed surgically with low operative mortality rates and long median survival times. The survey response rate was 72.4 per cent. In patients with acute valvular insufficiency or with continuing angina despite maximal medical therapy (unstable angina) who were HIV-1 antibody positive, 75.8 and 80.8 per cent, respectively, of surgeons would operate. If the patient had end-stage infection, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), 29.7 per cent and 34.7 per cent, respectively, would consider surgical intervention. When asked to perform simple procedures such as open lung biopsy or pleurectomy on a patient with AIDS, more than half of surgeons would operate (52.2 and 65.6 per cent respectively). In patients with operable carcinoma of the lung and asymptomatic HIV-1 infection 52.3 per cent would operate. This fell to 15.0 per cent if the patient had a diagnosis of AIDS. The majority of surgeons (77.2 per cent) felt patients should have an HIV-1 antibody test before operation and this rose to 95.6 per cent if patients were in a high-risk group; 60.2 per cent of surgeons had changed their surgical practice to reduce the risks of blood-borne infection.