Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypes of TransmissionStandard PrecautionsExamples of RulesOther Precautions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Types of Transmission
Standard Precautions
Examples of Rules
Other Precautions
Preventing a dirty hospital is a top priority for healthcare professionals. There are many precautions and protocols doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff follow to help prevent the spread ofinfectionswithin a medical facility.
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Types of Infection Transmission
Any infection that you get after being exposed to germs while in a hospital is known as a hospital-acquired infection (a.k.a.nosocomial infection).
To understand the “why” behind standard precautions, it helps to first review all of the ways germs can be passed along, or transmitted, in a medical setting.
Standard precautions are the minimum precautions that are used for all patients to prevent the spread of infections. In addition to hospitals, they are used in all forms of healthcare settings, including doctor’s offices and long-term care facilities.
As a rule, every person is treated as if they have an infection even if they don’t. This means that standard precautions are followed without exception.
Bloodborne Infection Protocols
In order to prevent the spread the spread of pathogens that can be carried in blood, precautions are taken with all patients to avoid direct contact with:
Standard precautions are especially important for protecting hospital workers and patients from an ever-widening range of drug-resistant bacteria. These are pathogens that have evolved to the point that they are no longer effectively treated with standard drugs.
Drug-resistant bacteria include:
Hygiene Protocols
Hygiene protocols were added to the above standard precautions to account for all types of bodily fluids and substances that can carry infections. This includes saliva,sputum, urine, feces, vomit, and nasal secretions.
These are strictly followed as part of the standard precautions and include:
Adequate handwashing with soap and water removes more than 90% of germs from the skin’s surface. Antimicrobial soaps will further remove bacteria, viruses, and other disease-causingpathogens.
During the early part of theCOVID-19 pandemic, about 6% of hospitalizations documented in 13 states were hospital employees.Without standard precautions, including hygiene protocols, the rate could have been much higher.
Standard Precaution Rules
Some of the key rules that are part of standard precautions include:
Transmission-Based Precautions
Transmission-based precautions are a second tier of precautions specifically for patients known or suspected to have certain types of infections. They are used in addition to the standard precautions.
These include potentially serious airborne infections likeCOVID-19,tuberculosis (TB), andmeasles.
Precautions that hospital staff use if there is a known or suspected risk of such transmission include:
In cases where a serious pathogen is involved or an epidemic has been declared, other precautions may be implemented. Among them:
What You Can Do
Summary
Standard precautions are precautions that hospital staff use in all patient care to prevent the spread of infections. This includes hand washing, proper handling and disinfecting of equipment, and the use of protective gear whenever there is the potential for exposure to infectious material.
When a patient is known or suspected to have certain infections, such as TB or COVID-19, additional transmission-based precautions are taken, such as patient isolation and the use of personal protective equipment.
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How infections spread.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Isolation precautions.Mihalache OA, Borda D, Neagu C, Teixeira P, Langsrud S, Nicolau AI.Efficacy of removing bacteria and organic dirt from hands—a study based on bioluminescence measurements for evaluation of hand hygiene when cooking.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(16):8828. doi:10.3390/ijerph18168828Kambhampati AK, O’Halloran AC, Whitaker M, et al.COVID-19–associated hospitalizations among health care personnel — COVID-NET, 13 states, March 1–May 31, 2020.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(43):1576-1583. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6943e3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Isolation precautions guideline.
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How infections spread.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Isolation precautions.Mihalache OA, Borda D, Neagu C, Teixeira P, Langsrud S, Nicolau AI.Efficacy of removing bacteria and organic dirt from hands—a study based on bioluminescence measurements for evaluation of hand hygiene when cooking.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(16):8828. doi:10.3390/ijerph18168828Kambhampati AK, O’Halloran AC, Whitaker M, et al.COVID-19–associated hospitalizations among health care personnel — COVID-NET, 13 states, March 1–May 31, 2020.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(43):1576-1583. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6943e3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Isolation precautions guideline.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How infections spread.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Isolation precautions.Mihalache OA, Borda D, Neagu C, Teixeira P, Langsrud S, Nicolau AI.Efficacy of removing bacteria and organic dirt from hands—a study based on bioluminescence measurements for evaluation of hand hygiene when cooking.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(16):8828. doi:10.3390/ijerph18168828Kambhampati AK, O’Halloran AC, Whitaker M, et al.COVID-19–associated hospitalizations among health care personnel — COVID-NET, 13 states, March 1–May 31, 2020.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(43):1576-1583. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6943e3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Isolation precautions guideline.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How infections spread.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Isolation precautions.
Mihalache OA, Borda D, Neagu C, Teixeira P, Langsrud S, Nicolau AI.Efficacy of removing bacteria and organic dirt from hands—a study based on bioluminescence measurements for evaluation of hand hygiene when cooking.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(16):8828. doi:10.3390/ijerph18168828
Kambhampati AK, O’Halloran AC, Whitaker M, et al.COVID-19–associated hospitalizations among health care personnel — COVID-NET, 13 states, March 1–May 31, 2020.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(43):1576-1583. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6943e3
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Isolation precautions guideline.
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