A multicenter study of the prevalence of hepatitis B viral serologic markers in anesthesia personnel.

Health care workers with frequent blood contact are at high risk of infection with hepatitis B virus. We surveyed 154 physician anesthesiologists (MD) and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA) at four university-affiliated medical centers to determine the prevalence of serologic markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Questionnaires were used to ascertain historical and demographic information, nonoccupational risk factors, and characteristics of the participants' anesthesia practice. The overall prevalence of seropositivity was 18.8% (range 10.2-30.3%), and there were no statistically significant differences among the four centers, MD and CRNA groups, or males and females. In contrast to other studies, the prevalence of seropositive markers did not increase with an increase in the participants' age or length of time in the specialty. For the groups sampled in this study, geographic location or type of practice did not influence the increased prevalence of HBV seropositivity in anesthesia personnel. The current methods of HBV infection control were not associated with a decreased prevalence of serum markers. The majority of the susceptible anesthesia personnel at these four institutions did not plan to receive the hepatitis B vaccine when surveyed at the time of this study.