The standard precautions policy requires that you treat all blood/body fluids as infectious.
Standard Precautions are a minimum set of practices for research and healthcare settings developed to reduce the risk of exposure to infectious agents contained in human samples. The major premise of Standard Precautions is to handle all human body fluids as potentially infectious (including samples derived from blood, urine, saliva,
feces, etc). At Cornell, these practices extend to all primate samples, excluding sweat. If performing studies with human participants or with blood and other potentially infectious materials, reducing transmission of diseases is a top priority, regardless of
diagnosis or presumed infection status. Disease spreads often through a lack of proper hand hygiene. Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or longer. Hand washing should occur regularly throughout the day, including prior to leaving the lab, after restroom use, after having physical interactions with research participants, and after sneezing or coughing. Discard contaminated materials through
designated waste channels. Refer to the Biological Waste page for additional details on identifying these streams. Maintain a clean workspace to prevent the risk of exposure and transmission of
infectious agents. Regularly disinfect personal lab spaces, reusable equipment, and commonly touched surfaces. Disease spreads by direct contact with sick individuals or infectious materials, or through indirect contact with contaminated surfaces or objects. By using universal precautions and treating all materials as infectious, the likelihood of exposure to an infectious agent is reduced. Use the standard precaution of wearing gloves and lab coat for direct contact with research animals, chemicals, or biological materials. All personnel must wear long pants and closed-toe shoes when in a research laboratory. Be cautious selecting sneakers. These shoes often have a mesh top which does not provide much protection. OSHA Universal Precautions Key messages•Standard precautions are the work practices required to achieve a basic level of infection prevention and control. Infection prevention and control uses a risk management approach to minimise or prevent the transmission of infection. The two-tiered approach of standard and transmission-based precautions provides a high level of protection to patients, healthcare workers and other people in healthcare settings. For further information regarding infection prevention and control practices in the healthcare setting see the National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) Australian guidelines for the prevention and control of infection in healthcare (2010). 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. As such, it must be assumed that all blood and body fluids/substances are potentially infectious. 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 consist of the following practices:
Standard precautions are the minimum infection prevention and control practices that must be used at all times for all patients in all situations. Hand hygieneHand 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 for hand hygiene, or times when hand hygiene should be attended to, was developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The 5 moments are:
See Hand Hygiene Australia for more information on hand hygiene and for ‘How to handwash’ and ‘How to handrub’ posters. Personal protective equipment (PPE)PPE protects the healthcare worker from exposure to blood and body fluids/substances. PPE that complies with relevant Australian Standards should be readily available and accessible in all health services. Gloves
Gowns and aprons
Masks, eye protection, face shields
Environmental control
Transmission-based precautionsTransmission-based precautions (TBPs) are used in addition to standard precautions when standard precautions alone may be insufficient to prevent transmission of infection. TBPs are used for patients known or suspected to be infected or colonised with epidemiologically important or highly transmissible pathogens that can transmit or cause infection. TBPs are not required for patients with bloodborne viruses, such as HIV, hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus. The type of TBPs applied is based upon the mode of transmission of the pathogen. For diseases that have multiple routes of transmission, more than one TBP category is applied. The following are the routes of transmission.
TBPs should be tailored to the particular
infectious agent involved and the mode of transmission. Table 1 outlines the TBPs to be taken for infections with airborne, droplet or contact transmission. Table 1: Transmission-based precautions required according to route of transmission
For information on infection prevention and control precautions required for carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) see the Victorian guideline on CPE for health services (2017) or Victorian guideline on CPE for long-term residential care facilities (2017). For information on infection prevention and control precautions for other multi-resistant organisms see the Patient-centred risk management strategy for multi-resistant organisms (2011). For more information regarding which other infectious agents require transmission-based precautions, see the NHMRC Australian guidelines for the prevention and control of infection in healthcare (2010). SignageSignage should be positioned prominently outside the room of a patient in TBPs. This is to ensure staff and visitors do not enter without appropriate PPE. Note: visitors may not always be required to wear PPE when visiting patients in TBPs. Please consult local health service policies and procedures. Standardised TBPs signage has been developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and are available in portrait style or landscape style. If a health service uses their own signage, ensure that signage clearly notes the type of TBPs and PPE required. What are standard precautions for blood and body fluids?Wear protective clothing that covers skin and personal clothing during procedures or activities where contact with blood, saliva, or OPIM is anticipated. Wear mouth, nose, and eye protection during procedures that are likely to generate splashes or spattering of blood or other body fluids.
Do standard precautions assume all bodily fluids are infectious?Standard Precautions assume that all human blood and all human body fluids are infectious and should be handled with appropriate protective measures. Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Guidelines and Recommendations are available at this CDC site.
What precautions require that you treat all blood and other potentially infectious materials?Universal Precautions is an approach to infection control. According to the concept of Universal Precautions, all human blood and certain human body fluids are treated as if known to be infectious for HIV, HBV, and other bloodborne pathogens.
What are the requirements of standard precautions?Standard precautions include: hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), safe injection practices, safe handling of potentially contaminated equipment or surfaces in the patient environment and respiratory hygiene /cough etiquette.
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