The following text is from an archived Red Book® edition and may not reflect current recommendations or information. To view the current edition, click here.
Section 2. Recommendations for Care of Children in Special Circumstances
INFECTION CONTROL FOR HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN
Isolation Precautions
 Top Next |
|---|
Isolation Precautions
Health care-associated infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized children, particularly children in intensive care units. Hand hygiene before and after each patient contact remains the single most important practice in the prevention and control of health care-associated infections. Additional policies and procedures are required to prevent infection in critically ill pediatric patients. A comprehensive set of guidelines for preventing and controlling health careassociated infections, including isolation precautions, personnel health recommendations, and guidelines for the prevention of postoperative and device-related infections, can be found on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site (www.cdc.gov/ncidod/hip/guide/guide.htm). Additional guidelines are available from the principal infection control societies in the United States, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and specialty societies and regulatory agencies, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has established infection control standards. Physicians and infection control professionals should be familiar with this increasingly complex array of guidelines, regulations, and standards.
In 1996, the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) issued isolation guidelines for the care of hospitalized patients. 1 These guidelines recommend strategies to prevent the spread of pathogens among hospitalized patients. These isolation policies, supplemented by hospital policies and procedures for other aspects of infection and environmental control and occupational health, should result in policies that are "possible, practical, and prudent" for each hospital.
Routine and optimal performance of an expanded set of universal practices, designated Standard Precautions, is designed for the care of all patients regardless of their diagnosis or
Related text in Red Book:
         |
| Site Requirements | Privacy Policy | Core Values, Vision, and Mission Statement | ||
| The recommendations in this online publication do not indicate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as a standard of medical care. Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate. | ||
| Copyright © 2003 American Academy of Pediatrics |  |
|
