Failure of Prophylactic Zidovudine After Suicidal Self-Inoculation of HIV-Infected Blood

In this letter to the editor, the authors describe a 41-year-old woman who, in a suicide attempt, took blood from a male friend known to have had AIDS for 2 years. Although treatment with zidovudine began within hours of the subject innoculating herself, 3 months later she tested positive for HIV Type 1 & Type 2 antibodies. The authors give some suggestions as to why the treatment did not work. (5 refs.)