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Prions and the ENT surgeon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

Adam Frosh
Adam Frosh*
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, St Mary's Hospital, London, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Adam Frosh, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY. e-mail: a.frosh@ic.ac.uk
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Abstract

Recent developments in our understanding of prion diseases have raised concerns for the public health. There is now compelling evidence that the transmissible agent for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in affected individuals is accumulated in lymphoreticular tissues such as the appendix and tonsils. This agent demonstrates a remarkable resistance to standard methods of sterilisation used in hospital sterile services departments. The possible implications this has on the safety of surgical instruments in ENT and other surgical practice is discussed. This review also outlines the history of our understanding of prion diseases and describes the development of a diagnostic test for vCJD in the living patient by pharyngeal tonsil biopsy.

Keywords

PrionsSurgical instruments, adverse effectsCreutzfeldt-Jakob syndromeSpongiform encephalopathyTonsillectomy
Type
Review Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 113 , Issue 12 , December 1999 , pp. 1064 - 1067
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1999

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Footnotes

Paper presented at the Section of Laryngology, Royal Society of Medicine, London, May 1998.

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