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Does the Risk to the Surgeon Outweigh the Risk to the Patient?

Michael D. Hagen, MD; Klemens B. Meyer, MD; Stephen G. Pauker, MD

JAMA. 1988;259(9):1357-1359.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

EVEN among our society's leaders, the growing epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has produced panic. A presidential candidate (New York Times, June 7, 1987, section 4, p 1) and a US senator (Wall Street J, June 18,1987, p 33) have suggested that we quarantine people who are infected. School boards have barred seropositive children from the classroom; ministers have excluded them from church.¹ A clergyman has proposed that police officers should be authorized to shoot anyone suspected of being infected if that person threatens to bite them (USA Today, Aug 14,1987, p 3A). Some of our colleagues would refuse to provide care to infected patients.² None of these responses are either reasonable or humane. To criticize them, however, is not enough. We also must examine critically our profession's reactions to the crisis. As physicians, we must be logical in our responses and responsible in our leadership. . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Division of Clinical Decision Making, Department of Medicine (Drs Hagen, Meyer, and Pauker), New England Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to the Division of Clinical Decision Making, Department of Medicine, New England Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine, 750 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111 (Dr Pauker).

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