LAUSR

assess the potential for iatrogenic transmission of the rare but devastating Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) through surgical procedures prior to CJD diagnosis. The authors performed a retrospective analysis of 121 patients with probable or definite CJD at 4 US academic medical centers, 26 of whom underwent a total of 55 procedures in the year before their diagnosis of CJD. 1 Only 1 procedure was performed with sterilization techniques adequate to prevent CJD. There was, however, no evidence of iatrogenic transmission in any cases, although the follow-up period was too short given CJD’s potentially long incubation period.