Background. Surgical personnel are at risk of contracting blood-borne
diseases through exposure to patients' blood. Exposure rates for each
surgical subspeciality have not been previously reported. The purpose
of this study was to determine the rates of exposure to patients' bloo
d for operating room personnel. Methods. The study was conducted at Ya
le-New Haven Hospital, a level I trauma center and tertiary care hospi
tal. During a 3-month period, exposed personnel were interviewed by a
study nurse immediately after a cutaneous exposure to blood or after a
sharp injury. Results. During 2292 surgical procedures, 70 sharp inju
ries and 168 cutaneous exposures to blood were reported. The combined
exposure rate (skin contact and sharp injury) was 10.4 per 100 procedu
res (95% confidence interval, 9.1 to 11.6) and ranged from 21.2 for ge
neral surgery to 3.3 for pediatric surgery (goodness-of-fit chi-square
d, p < 0.001). The combined exposure rates were also significantly dif
ferent among types of surgery and ranged from 18 for laparotomies to 4
.3 for craniotomies (chi-squared, p < 0.001). The overall sharp injury
rate was 3.1 per 100 procedures (95% confidence interval, 2.3 to 3.8)
and ranged from 4.3 for general surgery to 1.3 for vascular surgery.
Conclusions. The rate of exposure to blood for operating room personne
l, which differ from prior studies, was 10.4 per 100 procedures and wa
s highest for general surgical procedures. The differences in rates am
ong studies might be attributable to different surgical technique, dis
similar case-mix, or different research methods relating to definition
or ascertainment of exposure.