Aids testing?

[Jeff Edmonton]

A practitioner has been diagnosed with aids and Hep C, over 200 patients are being contacted that had brain surgery to be tested to see if they were infected.

How many here were asked to sign a form before surgery consenting to an aids test?
Should Heath Care worker be subjected to the same tests?

If yes, should they be tested yearly and should they be tested for drug use also?

 

[Duffey]

I think most major surgeries require an AIDS consent form to be signed pre-op. They might not actually test for AIDS, but in the event a health care practicioner is stuck with a needle, scalpel, etc. they have the green light to go ahead and test.

Hospitals in our town require all medical workers to take the Hep C vaccine and stay current with it. They don't require AIDS testing.

 

[Greg a]

Random spot checks are common place in many industries and should be paramount in the health care field as well as frequent testing for ALL communicable diseases

 

[yotphix]

In fact though, proper sterile practice should make it completely irrelevant whether a member of a surgical team has a blood-borne communicable disease. I don't know what the policy is on health care workers who are HIV Positive or carrying Hep C but I'd imagine there must be just as many in the field as in the general population. I hope that the people asked in for testing don't fret too much, since there really isn't a significant risk.

 

[Jeff Edmonton]

I agree with you Greg, random spot checks could make a difference. I believe that the regional health group is considering different options in lite of what's happened.
Duffy I do not believe their is a vaccine for Hep C, their are vaccines for Hep A\B but not C.

Right now there is very little screening and the risk may be low but it would show that maybe they care. After all, safety should be the key motivator and it should be full disclosure.

While in the CVICU, the patient next to me no one was entering her room without "Full Viral body suits". I heard one of her family members complaining was the full body armor really necessary? It concerned me as they were only 3 TV remotes for 20 TV's and the nurses were sharing them from room to room!

Why should health care worker be immune?

 

[Duffey]

Yes, you're right Jeff. No vaccine for Hep C, just for A and B.

From my own observations, my husband has been in the medical field since 1975, hospital workers are at greater risk of exposure than the public. A case might be made for testing hospital workers if all patients were tested too.

 

[Jeff Edmonton]

Duffey, My wife and I have both worked in hospitals and my wife agrees with you.

I now work in an industry that regularly tests for alcohol and drugs. Maybe my attitude towards random testing is influenced by this, my wife now works for the company that does the testing.

 

[Natina13]

I was not asked to consent to an Aids test pre-surgery, but was tested for MRSA,they swabbed my nose for it. I have had Aids test before, all negative and it would not have offended me, if they had asked for one. The surgery is so sterile.....I can not see how it could be given easily during surgery ( if he cut himself, would he then use the same scalpel to continue ?.....nope and any wounds would have to be totally covered or he would be replaced on the surgery team), as their body fluids are not exchanged with ours, during the surgery. Much more likely for them to contract it from us...as in a needle puncturing their skin, after drawing our blood. Recently read ,no new documented cases of occupationally acquired HIV/AIDS have been reported since December 2001.
As for making it mandatory for all Heath Care workers......the costs would be over-whelming ( and your insurance rates jump) and if they need to be tested...it should also be mandatory for all patients, not just as a pre-op test, either. A very risky thing, since a Doctor upon learning you have tested positive, has the right, to no longer be your provider, as he may feel your too big a risk to this employees or himself. So this may be like opening a can of worms.....IMHO !
Renee


Go Team 2011 !!!!

 

[Rosebud54]

I was not asked to consent to an AIDs test. I would have if they wanted one.

Carol

 

[Bryan B]

I worked in a hospital for nearly 10 years (mid 80's to mid 90's) and also worked in hospitals installing pharmacy software until 03 (when my heart problems got serious). We had to get the hepatitis c vaccine as well as being tested for it and TB. They did not test for AIDS. I do not recall getting tested for AIDS or anything else as a patient. I would think they wouldn't test a patient (unless they suspected they had hepatitis or were HIV positive) unless a healthcare worker was directly exposed to a patient's blood or body fluid in a way that could transmit the disease.