Editing Infection Control and Safety (section)

=== Contact Precautions ===

'''PPE:''' gown and gloves donned before entering the room and removed before exiting. '''Placement:''' single room preferred; cohort patients with the same organism if a single room is unavailable, keeping at least three feet of separation and a privacy curtain. Use dedicated or single-use equipment (stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, thermometer); disinfect any shared equipment before it leaves the room. Limit transport, and cover the infected or colonized area during transport.

'''Common indications:''' multidrug-resistant organisms (MRSA, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producers, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales), ''C. difficile'', norovirus and other infectious diarrhea in an incontinent or diapered patient, respiratory syncytial virus, scabies and lice, impetigo, draining wounds or abscesses that cannot be contained by a dressing, herpes simplex in a neonate, and viral conjunctivitis.

'''''C. difficile'' specifics.''' Soap and water for hand hygiene, gown and gloves, private room with dedicated equipment, EPA-registered sporicidal disinfectant for the room, and continuation of precautions for at least 48 hours after diarrhea resolves (many facilities continue until discharge). Do not treat with antimotility agents such as loperamide, which can precipitate toxic megacolon. Antibiotic stewardship is the primary prevention strategy.