RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: the health care should be a safe act, free of adverse events. However, in daily practice an excessive exposure to factors that endanger the health of the professional is observed. The surgical center stands out as one of the sites where the professional involved is more vulnerable. This environment is the anaesthesiologist's workplace, and this professional must deal with its potential complicators. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of anaesthesiologists in Recife on various situations of risk in the workplace. METHOD: a cross-sectional study in which structured questionnaires, completed voluntarily and anonymously by the anesthesiologist itself, were applied to assess the knowledge of the potential risks in the operating room. Data were analyzed using Epi Info version 7. RESULTS: a total of 162 anaesthesiologists responded to the questionnaire, 38.02% of these professionals registered at Cooperative of Anaesthesiologists of Pernambuco. Of these, 3.7% read the manual of the Committee on Hospital Infection Control (Comissão de Controle de Infecção Hospitalar) of their institution and 40.74% chose the correct option, "technical director", as responsible for ensuring proper working conditions. Of the total, 5.56% stated that the anaesthetics' pollution index in the operating theater was monitored. Only 1.85% of the sample was subjected to periodic screening for tuberculosis. By analyzing the hypothetical situation of contamination with a patient with hepatitis C, only 43.83% knew that there is no effective post-exposure prophylaxis. CONCLUSION: educational campaigns should be implemented to improve the knowledge of health professionals and clarify institutions and professionals' rights and duties.