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New Haven Hospital QISS GB 325 New Haven, CT 06504 USA Dr. Jeff Topal 688-4634 |
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| Introduction |
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Based on the latest information on the transmission of infections in
hospitals, The Centers for Disease Control/Hospital Infection
Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) has revised the
The Guideline for Isolation Precautions in Hospitals
with the recommendation that hospitals and patient care institutions
implement Standard Precautions in the place of Universal
Precautions. Standard Precautions correlates with Universal Precautions
with minor revisions in nomenclature only. Additional categories
of Airborne, Droplet, and Contact Precautions have
been developed to manage specific diseases transmitted via such
routes.
The concept of isolating patients with transmissible diseases is the cornerstone of a hospital's program of infection prevention and control. This concept is an outgrowth of earlier practices where persons diagnosed with a transmissible infectious disease were "quarantined." Traditional systems of isolation precautions have relied on an understanding of the mechanisms by which disease can be spread and have focused the use of protective barrier equipment, such as gloves, gowns, masks, and protective eyewear in order to interrupt transmission and to break the chain of infection.
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Last modified: September 30, 2002.
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