A 60-year-old nursing home resident presents with a 3-day history of progressive shortness of breath and cough. The lung examination reveals right basilar crackles. The chest x-ray shows right lower lobe consolidation. Sputum culture grows methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Select the most appropriate isolation precaution.
Correct Answer: Contact precautions
Description: There are four types of isolation precautions that can be implemented in health care settings. Any given patient might require more than one type of precaution. Standard precautions apply when interacting with any patient, regardless of the diagnosis. They include hand washing before and after contact with every patient and the use of gloves, gowns, masks, and eye protection when contact with open sores, blood, or body secretions is anticipated. Contact precautions reduce the risk of spreading microorganisms that are transmitted by direct or indirect contact. They include private room placement of the patient and the use of gloves and gowns when in contact with the patient or the immediate environment. Contact precautions are indicated in patients colonized or infected with MRSA, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and C difficile.Droplet precautions limit the transmission of infections that are carried in respiratory droplets (>5 mm in size) such as influenza and meningococcal meningitis. Droplet precautions include placing the patient in a private room and asking health care professionals to use surgical masks within 3 ft from the patient. Airborne precautions reduce the risk of airborne particulate (particles less than 5 mm in size) transmission of infectious agents such as tuberculosis. The patient is placed in a private negative-pressure room with high-efficiency masks, such as the N95 mask, worn by all health care professionals upon entering those rooms. The patient has health care-associated MRSA pneumonia and requires contact precautions.
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