INFECTION-CONTROL BASIS FOR RECOMMENDING ONE-TIME USE OF STERILE SYRINGES AND ASEPTIC PROCEDURES FOR INJECTION-DRUG USERS

Persons who inject drugs are at increased risk for many infectious dis eases, including HIV. Reuse of syringes and needles and other equipmen t used to prepare and inject drugs increases the risk of infection wit h blood-borne and other pathogens. According to standard infection con trol guidelines, needles and syringes and their contents fall within t he critical category of patient contact because they enter the normall y sterile vascular space. Medical equipment considered critical should be treated or prepared in a manner that destroys vegetative and spore -forming microbes. The simplest way to ensure this level of hygienic p ractice is to use prepackaged, sterile, disposable needles and syringe s and to use sterile drug preparation equipment and drugs. These recom mendations are made as part of a comprehensive infection prevention pr ogram designed for injection drug users.