GUIDELINES FOR AUTOPSY IN HIV POSITIVE CASES

Autopsy on a patient who had died as a consequence of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) can be of great value in understanding the disease process. A potential risk to the prosector for acquiring the HIV exists, but if adequate preventive measures are undertaken, the risk is negligible. Indeed there is no documented evidence of a pathologist or an autopsy room attendant acquiring HIV infection while performing autopsy on a patient with AIDS. The procedures to be followed in the autopsy of the patient with AIDS are discussed.