The Mount Sinai journal of medicine, New York
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Emergency prophylaxis following needle-stick and sexual exposures includes HIV post-exposure prophylaxis, hepatitis B prophylaxis and emergency contraception. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorse HIV post-exposure and hepatitis B prophylaxis for health care workers, and hepatitis B prophylaxis and emergency contraception after sexual assault. The New York State Department of Health advocates HIV post-exposure prophylaxis after sexual assault. This study compares emergency department practitioners in New York State (NYS) with those from other states in their willingness to offer emergency prophylaxis after needle-stick and sexual exposures, and their self-reported history of prescribing and using HIV post-exposure prophylaxis. ⋯ Compared to their national colleagues, NYS emergency department practitioners were generally more willing to offer all forms of emergency prophylaxis after sexual assault. They also reported having had more experience than other practitioners in prescribing HIV post-exposure prophylaxis. Although most practitioners were clearly willing to offer HIV post-exposure prophylaxis for nonoccupational exposures, NYS practitioners were less willing to offer emergency prophylaxis following consensual sex than after sexual assault. These findings suggest that the NYS guidelines for HIV post-exposure prophylaxis after sexual assault may have influenced emergency practitioners willingness to offer and prescribe prophylaxis.