You are on page 1of 8

Transmission Based Precautions

Transmission Based Precautions


Three categories of transmission based precautions on the
basis of modes are the following:
• Contact Precautions
• Droplet Precautions
• Airborne Precautions
Contact Precautions
Purpose: Prevent transmission of infectious agents spread by direct or indirect
contact with patient or their environment
Example:
1. Epidemiologically important micro-organisms,MDROs
2. Also applied when there is excessive wound drainage,faecal incontinence or
other discharge from the body
Methods applied for prevention:
1. Implement Standard Precaution
2. Cohorting
3. In multi patient room, ensure more than 3 feet separation between bed
4. Rooms should be prioritized for cleaning and disinfection with focus on
frequently touched surfaces and equipments in the immediate vicinity of the
patient
Contact Precautions
Methods applied for prevention:
5. Discontinue Contact Precautions after sign and symptoms of the infection
have resolved
Precautions for HCPs and patients:
• HCPs should wear gowns and gloves for all patients and environmental
contact.PPE should be donned on entry and discarded before exiting the
patients room
• Perform hand hygiene
Special handling of equipments: Single use or decontaminate before use on next
patient
Transport of patients:
• Limit patient movement
• Notify receiving area
Droplet Precautions
Purpose: Prevent transmission of infectious agents spread through close
respiratory or mucous membrane contact with respiratory secretions
Example: B.pertussis,influenza vius,adenovirus,rhinovirus,N.Meningitides,group A
Streptococcus,corynebacteria,mumps and H.influenzae B
Methods applied for prevention:
1. Implement Standard Precaution
2. Single patient room is preferred
3. Avoid placing such patients in the same room with high risk and
immunocompromised patients
Droplet Precautions
Precautions for HCPs and patients:
• HCPs should wear a mask on entry in the room of such patients (a
respirator is not necessary)
• Patient should wear a mask and follow Respiratory Hygiene /Cough
Etiquette if they need transportation outside the room
• Perform hand hygiene
Special handling of equipments: None
Transport of patients:
• Notify receiving area
• Provide appropriate masks for patients
Airborne Precautions
Purpose: Prevent transmission of infectious agents that remain infectious over long
distances when suspended in air
Example: Rubella virus (measles), Varicella virus (chicken pox), M.tuberculosis
and possibly SARS-Co-V
Methods applied for prevention:
1. Implement Standard Precaution
2. Patient should be placed in isolation room (room that is equipped with special
air handling and ventilation capacity) with negative pressure in relative to
surrounding area.
3. Room should be having 12 air exchange per hour
Airborne Precautions
Precautions for HCPs and patients:
• HCPs should wear a mask or respirator depending on the disease specific
recommendations, donned before entry in the room
• Whenever possible ,non immune HCWs should not care for patients with
vaccine preventable airborne diseases (measles, chicken pox)
• Perform hand hygiene

Special handling of equipments: None

Transport of patients:
• Limit patient transport
• Notify receiving area
• Provide appropriate masks for patients

You might also like