Volume 69 Number 5 October 2002	back to contents

Is HIV Infection a Risk Factor for Complications of Surgery?	329-333
Sian Jones, M.D.1, Clyde B. Schechter, M.D.2, Cheryl Smith, M.D.3, and David N. Rose, M.D.4

¹Division of Infectious Diseases, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY; ²Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY; ³Department of Medicine, North General Hospital, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY; and ⁴Department of Medicine, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA.

Address all correspondence to Sian Jones, M.D., Box 1009, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1 East 100th Street, New York, NY 10029; Email: joness01@doc.mssm.edu

Accepted for publication February 4, 2002.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The literature is inconsistent as to whether HIV-infected patients have higher rates of surgical complication rates than HIV-uninfected patients. This inconsistency reflects the failure to control for confounding variables in many of the previous studies.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of records of HIV-infected individuals who underwent surgical procedures between 1990 and 1995 was matched with the records of HIV-uninfected control patients. We performed a logistic regression analysis to determine the independent effects of HIV infection and other potential risk factors for surgical complications.

RESULTS: The crude rates of death and infectious and hematologic complications were higher among HIV-infected patients than among uninfected patients. Although the crude risk of having any complication was higher among the HIV-infected (odds ratio [OR]=2.47, p=0.015), the adjusted risk was not (OR=0.72 [p<0.613]). Variables significantly associated with complications were American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) risk class (OR=2.7), age (OR=1.06 per year), and weight (OR=0.96 per kg).

CONCLUSIONS: HIV sero-status was not found to be an independent risk factor for complications of surgery. The most important risk factor for complication of surgery in HIV-infected patients is ASA risk class.

KEYWORDS

AIDS, HIV, surgery, complication.

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