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Dr. Ira Shah
M.D, DNB, DCH(Gold Medalist), FCPS
When treating HIV infected individuals, it is essential to take care of basic precautions to prevent transmission of HIV to the health care worker. There have been few cases of health care workers becoming HIV infected due to needle stick injuries and contact with infected secretions. Hence certain guidelines need to be followed when handling these children.
- While doing any procedure in the child, such as lumbar puncture, blood collection, the attendant should use gloves, gowns and protective eye wear.
- A surgeon should wear double gloves during surgery in an HIV infected child along with above measures.
- In case of spilling of blood, urine, vomit, stools or other body fluids, the spills should be cleaned wearing disposable gloves and wiped with disposable rags or paper towels. The surface should be cleaned with a bleach solution (1/4 cup bleach to 2.5 litres of water). The surface should be washed and air-dried. The disposable gloves, rags should be discarded in a leak-proof plastic bag.
- Instruments such as laryngoscopes if used in HIV infected child should be sterilized with hypochloride solution.
- In case of needle stick injury, the exposure site should be washed with soap and water and a disinfectant can be used. If the wound is deep or large volume of infected material has been splashed over the exposure site then an expanded regimen of post-exposure prophylaxis for 28 days is recommended consisting of either:
Zidovudine 300 mg bid Stavudine 30/40 mg bid
+ OR +
Lamivudine 150 mg bid Lamivudine 150 mg bid
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