Public Health Service guidelines for the management of health-care worker exposures to HIV and recommendations for postexposure prophylaxis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Abstract

This report updates and consolidates all previous PHS recommendations for the management of health-care workers (HCWs) who have occupational exposure to blood and other body fluids that may contain human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); it includes recommendations for HIV postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) and discusses the scientific rationale for PEP. The decision to recommend HIV postexposure prophylaxis must take into account the nature of the exposure (e.g., needlestick or potentially infectious fluid that comes in contact with a mucous membrane) and the amount of blood or body fluid involved in the exposure. Other considerations include pregnancy in the HCW and exposure to virus known or suspected to be resistant to antiretroviral drugs. Assessments of the risk for infection resulting from the exposure and of the infectivity of the exposure source are key determinants of offering PEP Systems should be in place for the timely evaluation and management of exposed HCWs and for consultation with experts in the treatment of HIV when using PEP.