Isolation

Nursing procedures (also called barrier nursing) designed to prevent a patient from infecting others or from being infected. The patient is usually isolated in a single room. Complete isolation is used if a patient has a contagious disease, such as Lassa fever, that can be transmitted to others by direct contact and airborne germs. In this case, all bedding, equipment and clothing are either sterilized or incinerated after use. Partial isolation is carried out if the disease is transmitted in a more limited way (by droplet spread, as in tuberculosis, for example). Reverse isolation, also called reverse barrier nursing, is used to protect a patient whose resistance to infection is severely lowered by a disease or treatment such as chemotherapy. The air supply to the room is filtered. All staff and visitors wear caps, gowns, masks, and gloves. Occasionally, long-term reverse isolation is needed for patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (see immunodeficiency disorders).