Preoperative HIV Screening in Guinness Eye Hospital Onitsha, Nigeria

Background of the Study: The deadly pandemic HIV/AIDS is commonly transmitted through contact with body fluids and needle prick injury in surgical procedures1. Cataract with these body fluids is inevitable in ophthalmic surgery and needle prick injury is a common surgical accident. Opinions vary as regards the justification for presurgical HIV screening or testing. In this center all patients undergoing surgery are subjected to screening for HIV prior to surgery. Aims and Objectives: To determine the association of HIV infection with surgical eye disease amongst patients in Guinness Eye Hospital, Onitsha. Materials and Methods: The case files of all patients that had surgery in Guinness Eye Hospital, Onitsha from 1st September 2005 to 31st August 2006 were reviewed. Results: HIV screening was carried out on 327(84.1%) of the 389 patients that had surgery within the period. Eighteen (5.5%) patients tested positive for HIV. Cataract was the commonest surgical eye disease for which patients were screened. Conclusion: Preoperative HIV screening should be carried out on all surgical cases irrespective of age, diagnoses or type of surgery. Keywords: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Preoperative and Screening. Nigerian Medical Journal Vol. 48 (3) 2007: pp. 55-5