(4) Gloves must be worn by all persons having direct contact with the
infected area.
(5)
Special precautions are necessary for instruments, dressings, and
linens.
CAUTION:
Only hospital personnel who have been vaccinated with poliomyelitis
vaccine should have direct contact with patients who have active
poliomyelitis.
Section II. ISOLATION TECHNIQUES
5-3.
GENERAL
The basic purpose of isolation is to minimize the spread of communicable
diseases. The physician determines whether or not isolation is needed. Once the need
for isolation has been determined, the responsibility for maintaining good isolation
techniques belongs to everyone involved--from the physician to housekeeping
personnel to the patient himself. Care for the patient in isolation is basically the same
as for other patients, but there is an increased emphasis on the principles of medical
asepsis.
a. The needs of a patient in isolation should not be ignored just because of the
isolation. The needs of the isolated patient are just as important as the needs of other
patients.
b. The basic principles that apply to patients in isolation are discussed in the
following paragraphs.
5-4.
ROOM
A private room should contain hand washing, bathing, and connecting toilet
facilities. Connecting toilet facilities make unnecessary the need for portable
commodes or special transportation techniques for commodes, bedpans, and urinals.
The implementation of isolation can be simplified if special rooms on one or more wards
are available for isolation.
a. The room or area should have a minimum ventilation (supply and exhaust) of
six air changes per hour. These areas should be constructed so that there is no cross-
circulation or recirculation of air, unless passed through high-efficiency filters, between
the isolation room and other sections of the hospital.
b. An anteroom between the room and the hall, especially for rooms housing
patients in strict isolation or respiratory isolation, will help in maintaining these two
categories of isolation by providing storage space for gowns, gloves, and masks. These
anterooms also reduce the possibility of airborne spread of infectious agents from the
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