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Emergency department ultrasound probe infection control: challenges and solutions

Point-of-care ultrasound (US) has become a cornerstone in the diagnosis and treatment of patients in the emergency department (ED). Despite the beneficial impact on patient care, concern exists over repeat use of probes and the role as a vector for pathogen transmission. US probes are used for vario...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Shokoohi, Hamid, Armstrong, Paige, Tansek, Ryan
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Dove Medical Press 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4806800/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27147883
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OAEM.S50360
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author Shokoohi, Hamid
Armstrong, Paige
Tansek, Ryan
author_facet Shokoohi, Hamid
Armstrong, Paige
Tansek, Ryan
author_sort Shokoohi, Hamid
collection PubMed
description Point-of-care ultrasound (US) has become a cornerstone in the diagnosis and treatment of patients in the emergency department (ED). Despite the beneficial impact on patient care, concern exists over repeat use of probes and the role as a vector for pathogen transmission. US probes are used for various applications, with the level of infection risk, based on the Spaulding Classification, ranging from noncritical with common practice to semicritical with endocavitary probes. To date, the most closely studied organisms are Staphylococcus aureus and human papilloma virus. Current evidence does confirm probe colonization but has not established a causative role in human infection. Based on current literature, US use during invasive procedures remains an infection control concern, but routine use on intact skin does not appear to cause significant risk to patients. Various barrier methods are available, each with indications based on extent of procedure and likelihood of contact with mucosal surfaces. Additionally, chemical cleansing methods have been shown to be effective in limiting probe contamination after use. New technologies utilizing ultraviolet light are available and effective but not widely used in the ED setting. As our understanding of the critical factors in US probe cleaning and disinfection improves, it is important to assess the challenges found in our current practice and to identify potential solutions to improve practices and procedures in infection control across the spectrum of US probe use in various applications in the ED. This article serves as a summary of the current literature available on infection control topics with the utilization of point-of-care US, and discusses challenges and potential solutions to improve the current practice of probe-related infection control.
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spelling pubmed-48068002016-05-04 Emergency department ultrasound probe infection control: challenges and solutions Shokoohi, Hamid Armstrong, Paige Tansek, Ryan Open Access Emerg Med Review Point-of-care ultrasound (US) has become a cornerstone in the diagnosis and treatment of patients in the emergency department (ED). Despite the beneficial impact on patient care, concern exists over repeat use of probes and the role as a vector for pathogen transmission. US probes are used for various applications, with the level of infection risk, based on the Spaulding Classification, ranging from noncritical with common practice to semicritical with endocavitary probes. To date, the most closely studied organisms are Staphylococcus aureus and human papilloma virus. Current evidence does confirm probe colonization but has not established a causative role in human infection. Based on current literature, US use during invasive procedures remains an infection control concern, but routine use on intact skin does not appear to cause significant risk to patients. Various barrier methods are available, each with indications based on extent of procedure and likelihood of contact with mucosal surfaces. Additionally, chemical cleansing methods have been shown to be effective in limiting probe contamination after use. New technologies utilizing ultraviolet light are available and effective but not widely used in the ED setting. As our understanding of the critical factors in US probe cleaning and disinfection improves, it is important to assess the challenges found in our current practice and to identify potential solutions to improve practices and procedures in infection control across the spectrum of US probe use in various applications in the ED. This article serves as a summary of the current literature available on infection control topics with the utilization of point-of-care US, and discusses challenges and potential solutions to improve the current practice of probe-related infection control. Dove Medical Press 2015-01-05 /pmc/articles/PMC4806800/ /pubmed/27147883 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OAEM.S50360 Text en © 2015 Shokoohi et al. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed.
spellingShingle Review
Shokoohi, Hamid
Armstrong, Paige
Tansek, Ryan
Emergency department ultrasound probe infection control: challenges and solutions
title Emergency department ultrasound probe infection control: challenges and solutions
title_full Emergency department ultrasound probe infection control: challenges and solutions
title_fullStr Emergency department ultrasound probe infection control: challenges and solutions
title_full_unstemmed Emergency department ultrasound probe infection control: challenges and solutions
title_short Emergency department ultrasound probe infection control: challenges and solutions
title_sort emergency department ultrasound probe infection control: challenges and solutions
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4806800/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27147883
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OAEM.S50360
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