Ph. Hwang et al., ATTITUDES, KNOWLEDGE, AND PRACTICES OF OTOLARYNGOLOGISTS TREATING PATIENTS INFECTED WITH HIV, Otolaryngology and head and neck surgery, 113(6), 1995, pp. 733-739
The AIDS epidemic has become one of the most important public health p
roblems of this century, As the prevalence of HIV infection continues
to rise, health care practitioners in all geographic regions can expec
t greater clinical exposure to patients infected with HIV, We conducte
d an anonymous survey of all practicing otolaryngologists in Ohio and
California to investigate regional differences in attitudes, knowledge
, and practices regarding the care of patients infected with HIV. We a
lso examined the data with respect to year of completion of residency
training to identify differences in attitudes or practices among otola
ryngologists who trained in the era of AIDS (post-1982 graduates) in c
omparison with their predecessors (pre-1982 graduates), In comparison
with Ohio otolaryngologists, California otolaryngologists reported mor
e frequent clinical encounters with HIV-infected patients and displaye
d significantly better knowledge regarding the otolaryngologic aspects
of HIV infection, Californians were more likely to support the right
of an HIV-infected physician to maintain an unrestricted practice and
would be less likely to disclose their HIV status to their patients an
d hospital if they were to become infected with HIV. Post-1982 graduat
es had more frequent encounters with HIV-infected patients than did pr
e-1982 graduates and demonstrated a better fund of knowledge, Although
Californians were more likely than Ohioans to routinely double glove
in surgery, the overall double gloving rate was low at 21%, California
ns were no more likely than Ohioans to routinely use protective eyewea
r water-impervious gowns, or indirect instrument-passing techniques in
surgery, No differences were observed in prevalence of protective sur
gical precautions between pre-1982 and post-1982 graduates,The results
of the survey indicate a need for broader acceptance and use of ''uni
versal'' surgical precautions among otolaryngologists.