Correct Answer: all treatments and procedures are done in the patient's room.
the concept of "standard precautions" refers to a set of infection control practices used in healthcare to prevent transmission of diseases that can be acquired by contact with blood, body fluids, non-intact skin (including rashes), and mucous membranes. these precautions are the basic level of infection control that healthcare providers apply to the care of all patients, regardless of their suspected or confirmed infection status.
standard precautions include several key strategies:
1. hand hygiene (handwashing with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer).
2. use of personal protective equipment (ppe) such as gloves, gowns, masks, and eye protection when there is an expectation of possible exposure to infectious material.
3. safe injection practices and proper handling and disposal of sharps and other potentially infectious materials.
4. respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette, which involves covering the mouth and nose during coughing or sneezing, using tissues and disposing of them properly, and wearing a mask if necessary.
the option "wear gloves or other ppe when coming in contact with bodily fluids" clearly aligns with standard precautions, specifically under the use of personal protective equipment to prevent direct contact with infectious agents.
however, the option "all treatments and procedures are done in the patient’s room" is generally not a part of standard precautions but rather a part of transmission-based precautions. transmission-based precautions are additional infection control precautions in healthcare, and they are used for patients known or suspected to be infected or colonized with infectious agents, including certain epidemiologically important pathogens. these precautions are designed to prevent the spread of pathogens by direct or indirect contact, droplets, or airborne routes, and they are implemented based on the mode of transmission of the disease.
transmission-based precautions include three categories:
1. contact precautions – used for infections, diseases, or germs that are spread by touching the patient or items in the room (e.g., mrsa, vre).
2. droplet precautions – used for diseases or germs that are spread in tiny droplets caused by coughing and sneezing (e.g., influenza, pertussis).
3. airborne precautions – used for diseases or very small germs that are spread through the air from one person to another (e.g., tuberculosis, measles, chickenpox).
in cases requiring airborne precautions, such as with highly transmissible diseases, healthcare settings might use airborne infection isolation rooms. within these scenarios, keeping all treatments and procedures within a patient's room whenever possible helps to contain the infectious agent and prevent its spread throughout the facility. this is a specific strategy used in addition to standard precautions, indicating why "all treatments and procedures are done in the patient’s room" is not a correct choice as a standard precaution, but rather a part of more specific, transmission-based precautions.
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