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The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 50, 248-250, Copyright © 1990 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

ARTICLES

Risks of blood exposure to the cardiac surgical team

JW Pate
Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee, Memphis 38163.

The risk of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus from patient to cardiac surgical team is perceived by most people to be very slight, yet the possibility is a valid concern. The feasibility of "barrier protection" in prevention of this risk is dependent on integrity of surgical gloves and absence of splashes of body fluids into eyes and broken skin. These factors were observed and recorded in 50 coronary bypass operations and 17 valve replacements. There was a high risk of glove penetrations (one to two per team member per operation) and of skin punctures, lacerations, or eye splashes (from 0.4 to 1.5 instances per operation). Better gloves and more self-defensive surgical techniques are indicated.

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