Renal Association Clinical Practice Guideline on prevention of blood borne virus infection in the renal unit.

Blood borne virus (BBV) infection was recognised as an important hazard for patients and staff in renal units in the 1960s [1]. In 1972 the Rosenheim Report was commissioned by the precursor to what is now the Department of Health (DoH) and included a set of guidelines for the control of hepatitis B (HBV) infection in renal units [2]. In 2002 a working party convened by the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) on behalf of the Department of Health published an updated report that also included recommendations related to hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection [3]. The following clinical practice guideline has considerable overlap with the DoH 2002 recommendations. It also complements other recently published international guidelines including Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines for Hepatitis C [4] and Canadian Society of Nephrology guidelines for prevention of blood borne infections in dialysis units (http://csnscn.ca/english/professional%20 practice/guidelines/default.asp?s=1, accessed 24/11/2008). Other evidence has been identified by on-line literature searching of Medline and Embase from 1966–2008. The draft guideline was posted on the Renal Association website between February and June 2009 and redrafted in the light of feedback from interested parties (see ‘Acknowledgements’ section). The evidence for these recommendations has been assessed using the modified GRADE system. The modified GRADE system defines both the strength of the recommendations of the guideline authors and the level of evidence upon which each of the recommendations is based. This grading system classifies