Isolation Precautions for Visitors

Transmission of organisms within the hospital setting has become a topic of major concern not only for patients and healthcare facilities but also for government agencies and the general public. This increased awareness has occurred in part due to the spread of organisms that have limited treatment options, such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), as well as the heightened recognition that many hospital-associated infections (HAIs) are preventable. A large body of literature shows that horizontal transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms involves the hands, and potentially the attire, of healthcare workers (HCWs). This evidence provides the rationale for the use of standard and contact isolation precautions among HCWs. However, the health risks to visitors and the role of visitors in the horizontal transmission of pathogens within acute care hospitals is not as clearly defined. Consequently, uncertainty remains regarding which precautions visitors should take when interacting with patients placed on isolation precautions. Frequent arguments against the use of isolation precautions among visitors include lack of visitor movement between patient rooms, the difficulty of educating visitors, and the difficulty of enforcing compliance with isolation practices

Adding New Fuel to the Fire: Monkeypox in the Time of COVID-19-Implications for Health Care Personnel

Monkeypox virus is reemerging, with cases reported on every inhabited continent at a time when clinical and public health resources have been stretched to the limit by COVID-19. As the monkeypox outbreak grows, health care workers must understand the threat and be prepared to address an infectious disease risk that may herald yet another unprecedented epidemic

For Patient Safety, It Is Not Time to Take Off Masks in Health Care Settings

As the COVID-19 public health emergency is lifted and the pandemic continues to recede, hospitals must decide how to deescalate mitigation strategies to sustainable states. This commentary advocates continuing universal masking in health care settings