Doctors take anti-AIDS drugs, but keep mum

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Docs take anti-Aids drugs, but keep mum

P LAXMI

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2005 02:10:40 AM ]

HYDERABAD: Far from breaking the silence on Aids, some medical

practitioners are shying away from disclosing that they are taking

drugs for prevention of HIV/Aids.

The treatment, called post-prophylaxis, is taken after an injury

during an emergency surgery. Though some doctors are unaware of the

post-prophylaxis treatment for prevention of HIV/Aids, many take it as

a precautionary measure after they sustain an injury or a cut during

surgery.

A combination of anti-retro viral drugs Lamivudine and Zudovudine are

taken twice a day. That is 60 tablets per month, says Dr M V Ramana

Rao, joint director for blood safety at the AP State Aids Control

Society. The drugs are distributed to hospital staff through the

district leprosy officer, he said. Staff, students and doctors at

government hospitals are taking post-prophylaxis treatment for

prevention of Aids after a cut or a needle injury during surgery, he

said.

But not all members of the medical staff give their names on record

though they are taking the drugs. So the exact number of doctors or

medical staff taking such preventive cannot be tracked, he said.

In case of a deep cut or injury, medical staffs are advised to consume

the retro-viral drug Effavaranje. The side-effects of these drugs may

be minimal but cannot be ruled out. So for prophylaxis treatment, the

potent retro-viral drug Nevrapine is not prescribed, Rao said.

A needle prick or a cut during surgery or suture can lead to the

doctor getting HIV or hepatitis infection, so such surgeons have to

take prophylaxis treatment, said Indian

Dental Association president Dr Nageswara Rao.

In case of jaw suturing in mandible fracture of the patient, though a

surgeon wears two pairs of gloves, the needles are so sharp that they

pierce through the glove, he said. During any surgery — be it heart,

spinal or ortho — all efforts are made to save the life of the patient

and the risk factor facing doctors is usually sidelined, said Dr

Mahesh Joshi head of the emergency department at Apollo Hospital.

Most of the corporate hospitals have the equipment to treat the

patient, but for the doctors at government hospitals the risks would

be more in terms of contracting a disease, he said.

Many doctors at government hospitals need to take more precautions,

considering the lesser availability of equipment and low hygienic

standards, said an expert surgeon at a corporate hospital.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/986609.cms