Infection Control and the Hospitalized AIDS Patient

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Abstract
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has created new and difficult challenges for infection control services. Limited information on the pathogenesis and means of transmission coupled with the reported high mortality rates of this disease, have heightened public fears about the potential risks resulting from exposure to AIDS. Hospitalization of these patients, with the attendant responsibilities for their care by hospital personnel, has served to focus and amplify these public concerns in a relatively small and inter-related community. The result, in some hospitals, has been an increase in incidents which interfere with the proper care of AIDS patients. While a great deal has been written about the appropriate precautions recommended for the care of these patients, little attention has been focused on the practical problems encountered within the institution of these policies and within the education of the concerned and relatively uninformed hospital community. The success of such a program is essential to assure the proper care of these patients. The purpose of the present report is to summarize the experience at our institution and to outline the approach adopted by the Infection Control Unit to deal with these problems.