HIV and HCV coinfected haemophilia patients: what are the best options of orthopaedic treatment?

In the era of contemporary orthopaedics, haematology and internal medicine, it is obvious that surgery can be indicated in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfected haemophilia patients suffering from severe and painful musculoskeletal problems. However, the expected high risk of infection and other postoperative complications is a concern due to the poor health status that many of these patients present. In a HIV and HCV coinfected haemophilia patient, the orthopaedic surgeon together with the multidisciplinary haemophilia team should weigh the risks and benefits carefully. Clinical and immunological status should be considered before suggesting a surgical procedure (specially a joint arthroplasty) in this group of patients. If a surgical procedure is contraindicated, conservative treatment could be an alternative, although many times with inferior results. Usually, surgical procedures can better relieve pain for several years and improve the quality of life in this cohort of patients. Regarding anaesthetics, drugs metabolized by the liver or the kidney should be avoided depending on every particular case. Rachianaesthesia is more recommendable than epidural anaesthesia in elderly patients in whom general anaesthesia sometimes could be dangerous, although in all ages we prefer general anaesthesia. The size of the needle should be small (size G-27), and we never use spinal catheters.