Seroprevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1, Hepatitis B Virus, and Hepatitis C Virus in Patients Having Major Surgery

Objective: To determine the proportion of major surgical procedures that involve patients having serologic evidence of infection with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a single center in Westchester County, New York. Methods: Blood samples sent for transfusion screening or cross-match were tested blindly for HIV antibody (anti-HIV), HBV core antibody, HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), and HCV antibody (anti-HCV). Demographic characteristics and operation category were correlated with serologic results by univariate and regression analyses. Results: Of 1,062 operations evaluated, 71 (6.7%, 95% confidence interval [$CI_{95}$], 5.2% to 8.4%) were performed on patients with either anti-HIV, HBsAg, or antiHCV. In 17 (1.6%, $CI_{95}$, .93% to 2.5%) of these operations, the patient evidenced anti-HIV; in 15 (1.4%, $CI_{95}$, .79% to 2.3%), HBsAg; and in 55 (5.2%, $CI_{95}$, 3.9% to 6.7%), anti-HCV. AntiHCV was detected significantly more often than anti-HIV (5.2% versus 1.6%, P