A unit for source and protective isolation in a general hospital.
An isolation unit consisting of 12 ventilated cubicles was investigated over 18 months. Out of 462 patients admitted, 262 (57%) required source and 200 (43%) protective isolation. Admissions of patients with staphylococcal sepsis fell from 16 in the first three months to six in the last three months. Staphylococcus aureus was recovered from 12% of nurses' fingers and often in small numbers from protective clothing and uniforms, but only two patients acquired a strain from a nurse or another patient. Gram-negative bacilli were rarely recovered from hands or protective clothing of nurses, and there was no evidence of spread of infectious diseases. This inexpensive unit, with simple but efficient isolation-nursing techniques, successfully prevented the spread of infection.
D000391:Air Microbiology; D003020:Clothing; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D006757:Hospital Units; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D010343:Patient Admission; D010357:Patient Isolators; D011481:Protective Clothing; D018805:Sepsis / Q000517:prevention & control; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006113:United Kingdom