Relationship between anesthetic procedure and contact of anesthesia personnel with patient body fluids.

We recorded the frequency with which anesthesia personnel came in contact with patient body fluids in order to provide an empirical basis for the recommendation of relevant precautions. Anesthesia personnel completed a questionnaire when performing a range of standardized procedures. The rate of contact with blood was as follows: catheterization of peripheral vein, 18%; insertion of central venous catheter, 87%; arterial puncture, 38%; lumbar puncture, 23%; catheterization of the extradural space, 34%; tracheal intubation, 4%; tracheal extubation, 9%; suction of oral cavity, pharynx, or trachea, 13%; intramuscular injection of drug, 8%; and establishment or discontinuation of drip for blood transfusion, 43%. By using protective gloves, 98% of contacts with patient blood would have been prevented. Blood contact was more frequent in the emergency ward than in the operating room (P less than 0.05). Health care workers were not able to predict when a specific procedure would imply that contact with patient blood would occur. We recommend that specific precautions be adopted for the various procedures and discuss precautions that could have prevented contact with body fluid.