HIV Needle Stick Risk Assessment Stratification Protocol (RASP)

Quantifies HIV exposure risk by source and exposure type and need for prophylaxis.

Source Population Known HIV Carrier:
  • 1
  • 10
Unknown HIV Status:
  • 100
  • 1000
Inoculum Type
  • 1
  • 10
  • 100
  • 1000
Method of Transmission
  • 1
  • 10
  • 100
  • 200
  • 500
  • 1000
Volume of Inoculum
  • 100
  • 10
  • 5
  • 1
Total Risk:
*End Stage AIDS, Hospitalized, High Viral Load**Suspected HIV, IV drug user, Unknown needle with high local HIV prevalence Total Risk = Basic Risk x Volume of Inoculum ModifierBasic Risk = 1 / (Source Modifier * Inoculum Type Modifier * Method of Transmission Modifier) The author also cites some every day life risks to help provide risk perspective:
Risk of dying in the next 12 months
Overall risk of dying in the next 12 months (all causes) 1/3 000
Specific causes of death in the next 12 months
from a lightning strike 1/2 000 000
in an accident in your bathtub or shower 1/1 000 000
from a previously unknown allergy to a prescribed drug 1/1 000 000
by choking to death on food 1/160 000
in a bicycle accident (if you own a bicycle) 1/130 000
from toxic shock if you use tampons 1/100 000
by drowning 1/50 000
from a fire 1/50 000
as a pedestrian hit by a car or truck 1/40 000
in a work-related accident (office workers) 1/37 000
from a fall 1/20 000
in a work-related accident (overall) 1/11 000
by being murdered 1/11 000
while jogging (average 2 h/wk) 1/10 000
in a road accident 1/6 000
from any kind of accident 1/3 000
Other risks
risk of dying on your next commercial jet flight 1/5 000 000
lifetime risk of being on a bridge when it collapses 1/4 000 000
risk of dying if you get influenza 1/5 000
risk of being diagnosed with cancer in the next 12 months (overall death rate 50%) 1/3 600
risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer in the next 12 months if you are (or were) a smoker (overall death rate about 90%) 1/250
risk of having a heart attack in the next 12 months if you are over 35 years of age 1/77








The NNT : Quick Summaries of Evidence-Based Medicine