The surgeon, needle-sticks, and HIV.

This review article looks at needle-stick injuries and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) conversion from a surgical perspective. Is the risk high or low? That depends on: the rate of HIV in your patients (varies by region); the likelihood of getting injured (varies by specialty); and the HIV conversion rate from the injury (an elusive number that varies with the injury). The current literature was reviewed to see how risky surgery currently is. This leads us to speculate on the HIV risks of the near future.