Infection Control Management of Infectious Diseases - Summary Table
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Summary table for the management of patient with specified infectious diseases
Prevention and management of infection in healthcare settings
The practices that form the basic measures to prevent transmission of infectious diseases within health care environments are divided into standard and transmission-based precautions.
When a disease is suspected but not confirmed, a symptom-based approach will reduce the risk of transmission to the health care worker and to other patients. For example, if a patient presents with vomiting or diarrhoea or respiratory symptoms (coughing, sneezing and fever) then the appropriate precautions should be implemented immediately, rather than waiting for a definitive diagnosis.
Standard precautions
The use of standard precautions for all patients is the primary strategy for minimising the transmission of infections in health care settings. It is essential that standard precautions are always applied when caring for any patient regardless of their infectious disease status. This is becoming more important as the prevalence of unidentified carriage of multidrug-resistant organism (MRO) in community settings increases.
The practices that form part of standard precautions include:
- hand hygiene according to the "5 moments" for hand hygiene
- appropriate use of personal protective equipment according to risk of body fluid exposure
- use of aseptic technique where required
- appropriate reprocessing of reusable medical devices
- safe handling and disposal of sharps and potentially infectious material
- safe handling of waste and linen
- environmental controls including cleaning and spills management
Transmission-based precautions
Transmission-based precautions are applied in addition to standard precautions for patients suspected or confirmed to be infected with specific organisms. The transmission-based precautions required to manage these infections varies according to the route of transmission (airborne, droplet or contact).
The specific transmission-based precautions may involve the use of:
- isolation facilities (single room or negative pressure room)
- surgical masks for droplet transmission
- additional respiratory protection, such as the use of high filtration particulate filter respirators (i.e. P2/N95 or equivalent respirators)
- disposable gowns, gloves and eye protection on entry to the room
Details of these requirements are found in local facility procedure manuals, state guidelines for management of multi-drug resistant organisms, and the Australian Guidelines for the prevention and control of infection in healthcare.
Resources
SA Health
- Infection Control Management of Infectious Diseases-Summary table (PDF 839KB)
- Sequence for donning (putting on) and doffing (taking off) Personal Protective Equipment A3 poster (PDF 233KB)
- Cystic Fibrosis: Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Clinical Guideline (PDF 342KB)
- Guidelines for the management of Gastroenteritis outbreaks in residential environments in South Australia (PDF 1.5MB)
- Influenza resources and links for health professionals
National
The Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care also has a number of generic resources available from their website, such as a set of standardised signage on standard and transmission-based precautions, and a sequence for putting on and removing PPE.
Education and courses are available from a number of providers including SA Health elearning, the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC), The Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) and a number of universities. See the SA Health Infection Prevention and Control Education webpage.
Further information
For further information on prevention and management of infections in healthcare settings, contact the SA Health's Infection Control Service.