Protective isolation

Protective isolation or reverse isolation denotes the practices used for protecting vulnerable persons for contracting an infection.[1] When people with weakened immune systems are exposed to organisms, it could lead to infection and serious complications.[2][3] It is sometimes practiced in patients with severe burns and leukemia, or those undergoing chemotherapy.[4][5] When reverse isolation is practiced in laminar air flow or high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA)-filtered rooms, there was an improvement in survival for patients receiving bone marrow or stem cell grafts.[6]

Precautions

When a person is in protective isolation, the room should be properly cleaned and ventilated. Only necessary furniture should be present in the room. Hand hygiene products such as hand sanitizer, soap, paper towels, and gloves should be made available.[2] The hospital staff and visitors shall use protective clothing and equipment while visiting the person under protective isolation.[2] The number of visitors should be limited and sick people should not visit the person who is under protective isolation.[2] Dedicated medical equipment is used for the patient, and in cases where equipment should be shared, it is cleaned with a disinfectant.[7]

Consequences

A small study showed that children brought up under protective isolation have been reported to have less self-generated activity, including motor and motor-based cognitive skills.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wigglesworth, N (2003). "The use of protective isolation". Nursing Times. 99 (7): 26–7. PMID 12655746.
  2. ^ a b c d "Protective Isolation: What Is It and Why Do I Need It?: Winchester Hospital". www.winchesterhospital.org. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Reverse Isolation - What You Need to Know". Drugs.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Protective isolation (EN)". www.isala.nl. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  5. ^ Pre-Meds, Global (19 November 2014). "Nurses guide to personal protective equipment". Global Pre-Meds. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  6. ^ Seshadri, Srividyalakshmi; Baumann, Michael A. (November 2008). "Reverse isolation for neutropenic patients". Community Oncology. 5 (11): 628–632. doi:10.1016/S1548-5315(11)70529-0.
  7. ^ Reid, Brenda; Courtney, Sarah (14 July 2015). "Isolation protocol for patients with severe combined immune deficiency". Lymphosign Journal. 2 (3): 165–170. doi:10.14785/lpsn-2015-0011.
  8. ^ Tamaroff, Michael H.; Nir, Yehuda; Straker, Norman (1 December 1986). "Children reared in a reverse isolation environment: Effects on cognitive and emotional development". Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 16 (4): 415–424. doi:10.1007/BF01531708. ISSN 1573-3432. PMID 3804957. S2CID 30045420.