TY - JOUR
T1 - Unconsented HIV testing in cases of occupational exposure
T2 - Ethics, law, and policy
AU - Cowan, Ethan
AU - MacKlin, Ruth
PY - 2012/10
Y1 - 2012/10
N2 - Postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) has substantially reduced the risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) after an occupational exposure; nevertheless, exposure to HIV remains a concern for emergency department providers. According to published guidelines, PEP should be taken only when source patients are HIV-positive or have risk factors for HIV. Initiating PEP when source patients are uninfected puts exposed persons at risk from taking toxic drugs with no compensating benefit. Forgoing PEP if the source is infected results in increased risk of acquiring HIV. What should be done if source patients refuse HIV testing? Is it justifiable to test the blood of these patients over their autonomous objection? The authors review current law and policy and perform an ethical analysis to determine if laws permitting unconsented testing in cases of occupational exposure can be ethically justified.
AB - Postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) has substantially reduced the risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) after an occupational exposure; nevertheless, exposure to HIV remains a concern for emergency department providers. According to published guidelines, PEP should be taken only when source patients are HIV-positive or have risk factors for HIV. Initiating PEP when source patients are uninfected puts exposed persons at risk from taking toxic drugs with no compensating benefit. Forgoing PEP if the source is infected results in increased risk of acquiring HIV. What should be done if source patients refuse HIV testing? Is it justifiable to test the blood of these patients over their autonomous objection? The authors review current law and policy and perform an ethical analysis to determine if laws permitting unconsented testing in cases of occupational exposure can be ethically justified.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84867579663&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84867579663&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2012.01453.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2012.01453.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 22994417
AN - SCOPUS:84867579663
SN - 1069-6563
VL - 19
SP - 1181
EP - 1187
JO - Academic Emergency Medicine
JF - Academic Emergency Medicine
IS - 10
ER -