Are safe needles and syringes used in medical practices? What is the risk of a patient contracting HIV in the medical setting from non-intravenous injections?

M.Q.

First, let me address the larger issue of contracting HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) in the medical setting. Currently, this should be very rare. Unfortunately, blood products were not tested for HIV until 1985. Before then, many, many people contracted HIV, not to mention other infections, from tainted blood. Today, the risk of contracting HIV from a blood transfusion is thought to be less than 1 in 200,000 transfusions, and it may be closer to 1 in 500,000. This is a pretty low risk, probably lower than the chance of dying in a car accident on the way to the hospital. HIV can also theoretically be transmitted by organ transplantation, but this is also quite rare.

There have been only a few reports of patients contracting HIV from a health-care worker directly. A much-publicized case involved a dentist possibly transmitting HIV to several patients. Studies showed convincing evidence that this transmission occurred. There was at least one additional reported case of transmission from a health-care worker. However, such events would be very rare and probably require malicious intent or gross negligence by the health-care worker.

As to your specific question, the needles and syringes used in the United States are extremely safe. They are disposable needles made for one use only. The needles are sterile and free of HIV -- or any other disease-causing germ, for that matter. If you are still uneasy that a needle or syringe may have been used previously, simply ask to witness the opening of the sterile container. Then you will know that it is safe.

The above may not hold true in every nation. The blood supply is not necessarily safe outside the United States and the developed world. Third-world countries may not have the means to test blood for HIV and other disease-causing organisms. Political unrest in these nations may make an unsafe blood supply more likely, and government regulations of medical supplies may not be as stringent as in the United States. If you are in such a country and in need of medical attention, you should probably ask to see the unopened medical instrument package before you allow any invasive procedure.