Occupational Human Immunodeficiency Virus Exposure Among Residents and Medical Students

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Abstract
AT THE END of the 1989 to 1990 training year (July 1-June 30), we conducted a retrospective survey to investigate the incidence of needlesticks and other exposures to patients' blood or bodily fluids among medical students and residents at the Los Angeles County–University of Southern California Medical Center, Los Angeles, by means of an anonymous questionnaire.1 Study results showed that 71% of respondents had one or more needlesticks or other exposures during the training year. Surgical residents had a more than 6-fold greater rate of occupational exposures than medical residents and were significantly more likely to experience both percutaneous and mucocutaneous exposures. Medical students were found to be at somewhat lower risk than residents. We estimated the probability of seroconversion after human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exposure to be between 0.32 and 0.54 seroconversions per year and 1 every 2 to 3 years among residents and medical students at our institution. Only 9% of all exposures were documented through reporting to the health center.1