Case-control study of HIV seroconversion in health-care workers after percutaneous exposure to HIV-infected blood--France, United Kingdom, and United States, January 1988-August 1994

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1995 Dec 22;44(50):929-33.

Abstract

Health-care workers (HCWs) are potentially at risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection through occupational exposures to blood. Although prospective studies indicate that the estimated risk for HIV infection after a percutaneous exposure to HIV-infected blood is approximately 0.3% (1,2), factors that influence this risk have not been determined. To assess potential risk factors, CDC, in collaboration with French and British public health authorities, conducted a retrospective case-control study using data reported to national surveillance systems in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. This report describes the study and summarizes results that suggest that risk factors for HIV transmission include certain characteristics of the exposure and the source patient; in addition, postexposure use of zidovudine (ZDV) by HCWs was associated with a lower risk for HIV transmission.

MeSH terms

  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
  • Blood-Borne Pathogens
  • Case-Control Studies
  • France / epidemiology
  • HIV Infections / blood
  • HIV Infections / drug therapy
  • HIV Infections / transmission
  • HIV Seropositivity / drug therapy
  • HIV Seropositivity / epidemiology*
  • HIV Seropositivity / transmission*
  • Health Personnel / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional / statistics & numerical data*
  • Needlestick Injuries
  • Occupational Exposure
  • Risk Factors
  • United Kingdom / epidemiology
  • United States / epidemiology
  • Zidovudine / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents
  • Zidovudine