Precauciones del aislamiento de los pacientes con enfermedades transmisibles en una institución de tercer nivel / Isolation precautions in patients with communicable diseases in a third-level institution

El concepto de aislamiento para personas con enfermedades transmisibles fue aplicado desde tiempos bíblicos, una muestra de ello son las colonias de leprosos.1 Durante la guerra de Crimea, Florence Nightingal concluyó en la necesidad de dividir las salas comunes en cubículos y enfatizó la importancia de la asepsia y del mantener los ambientes limpios, cambiando así el concepto de la transmisión de las infecciones.2 Con estos ejemplos, podemos ver a través de la historia como los conceptos y procedimientos se van mejorando y avanzando con el propósito de controlar las infecciones. En 1996, el Comité Asesor de Prácticas sobre el Control de Infecciones Hospitalarias (HICPAC) publicó la Guía para las Precauciones de Aislamiento en los Hospitales, definiendo con ello las precauciones estándar y las precauciones basadas en la transmisión.3 El objetivo de este trabajo fue hacer una revisión bibliográfica de los diferentes artículos científicos sobre las precauciones del manejo de pacientes con enfermedades transmisibles en una institución de tercer nivel para comprobar si existe o no una estandarización en las recomendaciones y en los procedimientos de enfermería en la práctica diaria. Se enfocó en las precauciones del aislamiento de los pacientes con enfermedades transmisibles mediante la revisión exhaustiva de diversas fuentes bibliográficas y mediante de fuentes electrónicas. Como resultado de dicha revisión comprobamos que sí existe una estandarización en las recomendaciones para el aislamiento del enfermo infeccioso, sin embargo, con la revisión de los manuales de diferentes instituciones observamos que hace falta ser más específico en los procedimientos, uso y manejo del material requerido para cumplir con las recomendaciones para el aislamiento, ya que un número importante de estos manuales no cuenta con estos datos, así como la disponibilidad y difusión de éstos

The concept of isolation for people with contagious diseases, was applied since biblical times, a sample are leper colonies, during the Crimean ar Florence Nightingale concludes the need to divide the communal rooms in cubicles and emphasizes the importance of asepsis and maintain clean environments, so changing the concept of the transmission of infections. With these examples we can see through the history as the concepts and procedures are getting better and advancing in order to control infections. In 1996, the Advisory Committee for Practice on Control of Hospital Infections (HICPAC) published the Guidelines for Isolation Precautions in Hospitals defining for it the standard precautions and precautions based on transmission. The objective of this study was to review the literature of different scientific articles about precautions for handling patients with contagious diseases in a third level institution, to verify whether or not standardization exists in the recommendations and procedures in nursing daily practice. It focused on isolation precautions for patients with contagious diseases through an exhaustive review of various literature sources through electronic sources. As a result of that review we check that there is standardization in the recommendations for isolation of infectious patient. However, with the revision of textbooks from different institutions, we see that need to be more specific in the procedures, use and handling of material required to comply with the recommendations for isolation because a significant number of these manuals do not have these data. Well as availability and dissemination of these

Latex allergy: historical perspective.

The widespread use of powdered latex gloves, following the institution of universal precautions in 1987, increased the occurrence of a host of adverse reactions to natural rubber latex (NRL). Although the most common reactions are irritant or allergic dermatitis reactions to manufacturing chemicals, a spectrum of type I IgE-mediated reactions to NRL proteins are of great concern. IgE-mediated reactions range from contact urticaria to occupational asthma and anaphylaxis, resulting in significant morbidity and potential mortality. At-risk populations include highly exposed groups like health care workers and certain patient groups requiring extensive medical treatment. A significant complicating factor is the association with clinically significant adverse reactions to certain foods because of allergen cross-reactivity. Institution of policies to use only low-protein, powder-free gloves, has resulted in a dramatic reduction of visits to occupational health departments and workmen's compensation claims due to occupational asthma.

Home health/public health/visiting nurse returning to our past: a comparison of public health nursing at the turn of the century.

The basic ingredients that made early home care a cornerstone in American healthcare are still the foundations for home health/visiting nurse/public health in the 1990s. Once overshadowed by the centralization of patient care in the hospital, home care has stepped into the place of cooperative healthcare with the hospital. This article highlights that cooperation and those basic ingredients.