The use of standard precautions is also applicable to and essential for many non-health care settings, such as personal care and body art industries. For further information regarding infection prevention and control guidelines for these industries see the department's Health guidelines for personal care and body art industries.
All people potentially harbour infectious microorganisms. Standard precautions are the work practices required to achieve a basic level of infection prevention and control. The use of standard precautions aims to minimise, and where possible, eliminate the risk of transmission of infection, particularly those caused by blood borne viruses.
Standard precautions apply to all patients regardless of their diagnosis or presumed infection status. Standard precautions must be used in the handling of:. Standard precautions are the minimum infection prevention and control practices that must be used at all times for all patients in all situations. Hand hygiene is considered one of the most important infection control measures for reducing the spread of infection.
Hand hygiene is a general term that refers to any action of hand cleansing, such as handwashing or handrubbing. Microorganisms are either present on hands most of the time resident flora or acquired during healthcare activities transient flora. The aim of hand hygiene is to reduce the number of microorganisms on your hands, particularly transient flora which may present the greater risk for infection transmission.
Handwashing : Hands should be washed with soap and water when visibly soiled and after using the toilet. Handrubbing : Handrubbing with an alcohol-based hand rub ABHR is the preferred method for hand cleansing in the healthcare setting when hands are not visibly soiled. ABHRs are more effective against most bacteria and many viruses than either medicated or non-medicated soaps.
ABHRs are also less drying on hands than washing hands with soap and water, and consequently cause less irritation to the skin. ABHRs should be applied to dry hands. The 5 moments are:. Patient-Care Equipment Handle used patient-care equipment soiled with blood, body fluids, secretions, and excretions in a manner that prevents skin and mucous membrane exposures, contamination of clothing, and transfer of microorganisms to other patients and environments.
Environmental Control Ensure that the hospital has adequate procedures for the routine care, cleaning, and disinfection of environmental surfaces, beds, bedrails, bedside equipment, and other frequently touched surfaces, and ensure that these procedures are being followed. Linen Handle, transport, and process used linen soiled with blood, body fluids, secretions, and excretions in a manner that prevents skin and mucous membrane exposures and contamination of clothing, and that avoids transfer of microorganisms to other patients and environments.
Patient Placement Place a patient who contaminates the environment or who does not or cannot be expected to assist in maintaining appropriate hygiene or environmental control in a private room. Occupational Health and Blood-Borne Pathogens Take care to prevent injuries when using needles, scalpels, and other sharp instruments or devices, when handling sharp instruments after procedures, when cleaning used instruments, and when disposing of used needles.
Never recap used needles, manipulate them using both hands, or use any other technique that involves directing the point of a needle toward any part of the body. Do not remove used needles from disposable syringes by hand, and do not bend, break, or manipulate used needles by hand.
Place used disposable syringes and needles, scalpel blades, and other sharp items in appropriate puncture-resistant containers The containers are located as close as practical to the area in which the items were used. Place reusable syringes and needles in a puncture-resistant container for transport to the reprocessing area.
Use mouthpieces, resuscitation bags, or other ventilation devices as an alternative to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation methods in areas where the need for resuscitation is predictable. Wet a cloth with the disinfectant, wipe away dirt and organic material, then with a clean cloth apply the disinfectant to the item and allow to air dry for the time specified by the product manufacturer.
Some pathogens such as norovirus and Clostridium difficile are not inactivated by commercial disinfectants routinely used in local public health settings. In situations where contamination with these pathogens is suspected, a bleach solution is recommended for disinfecting contaminated surfaces and items. Some patient care items may be damaged or destroyed by certain disinfectants. Consult with the manufacturer of the items before applying disinfectants.
Clients in waiting rooms or other common areas can spread infections to others in the same area or to local public health agency staff. Measures to avoid spread of respiratory secretions should be promoted to help prevent respiratory disease transmission. Elements of respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette include:.
Anyone handling, storing, or disposing of medical waste is covered under this chapter. Home generators of medical waste are exempt except for rules related to the safe disposal of sharps. Sharp items should be disposed of in containers that are puncture resistant, leak-proof, closable, and labeled with the biohazard symbol or are red in color. Items generated by local public health agencies that should be discarded into sharps containers include contaminated items that may easily cause cuts or punctures in the skin used needles, lancets, broken glass or rigid plastic vials and unused needles and lancets that are being discarded.
Syringes or blood collection tube holders attached to needles must also be discarded still attached to the needles. Non-sharp disposable items saturated with blood or body fluids i.
Such items may include used PPE and disposable rags or cloths. Local public health agency staff can transport infectious waste themselves or contract with a waste hauler to collect and transport waste. Cleaning to remove debris and organic contamination from instruments should always occur before disinfection or sterilization. If blood, saliva, and other contamination are not removed, these materials can shield microorganisms and potentially compromise the disinfection or sterilization process.
Automated cleaning equipment e. After cleaning, dried instruments should be inspected, wrapped, packaged, or placed into container systems before heat sterilization. Packages should be labeled to show the sterilizer used, the cycle or load number, the date of sterilization, and, if applicable, the expiration date. The ability of a sterilizer to reach conditions necessary to achieve sterilization should be monitored using a combination of biological, mechanical, and chemical indicators.
Biological indicators, or spore tests, are the most accepted method for monitoring the sterilization process because they assess the sterilization process directly by killing known highly resistant microorganisms e.
A spore test should be used at least weekly to monitor sterilizers. However, because spore tests are only performed periodically e. Mechanical and chemical indicators do not guarantee sterilization; however, they help detect procedural errors and equipment malfunctions. Mechanical monitoring involves checking the sterilizer gauges, computer displays, or printouts; and documenting the sterilization pressure, temperature, and exposure time in your sterilization records.
Since these parameters can be observed during the sterilization cycle, this might be the first indication of a problem. Chemical monitoring uses sensitive chemicals that change color when exposed to high temperatures or combinations of time and temperature. Examples include chemical indicator tapes, strips or tabs, and special markings on packaging materials.
Chemical monitoring results are obtained immediately following the sterilization cycle and therefore can provide more timely information about the sterilization cycle than a spore test. A chemical indicator should be used inside every package to verify that the sterilizing agent e. If the internal chemical indicator is not visible from the outside of the package, an external indicator should also be used.
External indicators can be inspected immediately when removing packages from the sterilizer. If the appropriate color change did not occur, do not use the instruments. Chemical indicators also help to differentiate between processed and unprocessed items, eliminating the possibility of using instruments that have not been sterilized.
Note: A single-parameter internal chemical indicator provides information regarding only one sterilization parameter e. Sterilization monitoring e. Maintaining accurate records ensures cycle parameters have been met and establishes accountability. In addition, if there is a problem with a sterilizer e.
Ideally, sterile instruments and supplies should be stored in covered or closed cabinets. Wrapped packages of sterilized instruments should be inspected before opening and use to ensure the packaging material has not been compromised e. The contents of any compromised packs should be reprocessed i.
Recommendations for the cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization of dental equipment can be found in the Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings— pdf icon [PDF — 1. Recommendations for the cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization of medical equipment are available in the Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities pdf icon [PDF — 1 MB] available at: www. Policies and procedures for routine cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces should be included as part of the infection prevention plan.
Cleaning removes large numbers of microorganisms from surfaces and should always precede disinfection. Disinfection is generally a less lethal process of microbial inactivation compared with sterilization that eliminates virtually all recognized pathogenic microorganisms but not necessarily all microbial forms e.
Emphasis for cleaning and disinfection should be placed on surfaces that are most likely to become contaminated with pathogens, including clinical contact surfaces e. When these surfaces are touched, microorganisms can be transferred to other surfaces, instruments or to the nose, mouth, or eyes of DHCP or patients. Although hand hygiene is the key to minimizing the spread of microorganisms, clinical contact surfaces should be barrier protected or cleaned and disinfected between patients.
Disinfectant products should not be used as cleaners unless the label indicates the product is suitable for such use. DHCP should follow manufacturer recommendations for use of products selected for cleaning and disinfection e. Facility policies and procedures should also address prompt and appropriate cleaning and decontamination of spills of blood or other potentially infectious materials.
Housekeeping surfaces, e. Use surface barriers to protect clinical contact surfaces, particularly those that are difficult to clean e. Clean and disinfect clinical contact surfaces that are not barrier-protected with an EPA-registered hospital disinfectant after each patient.
Use an intermediate-level disinfectant i. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Oral Health. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Standard Precautions. Minus Related Pages.
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