AIDS and anaesthesia.

The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a group of conditions which is reaching epidemic proportions. It is caused by a virus new to man, with an as yet poorly understood natural history, ominous prognosis and no known cure. Anaesthetists should be aware of the implications of dealing with increasing numbers of both diagnosed and undiagnosed AIDS patients and asymptomatic carriers in the fields of resuscitation, intensive therapy and theatre anaesthesia. The misunderstanding of AIDS is as extensive as the literature on the subject and a review of the current knowledge of the disease relevant to the anaesthetist is pertinent.