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Understanding the importance of infection control during construction

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, June 10, 2005

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Q: Caregivers detected invasive aspergillosis in patients on a leukemia and bone-marrow transplant (BMT) unit through surveillance and chart reviews. Construction was underway in an adjacent building, and air pressure in the BMT unit was slightly negative to other areas, thus causing non-HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) to be sucked into the BMT unit through doors and poorly sealed windows. This non-filtered air may have contained Aspergillus spores, which then could have infected the patients.

This problem was corrected using several measures, including (but not limited to) providing N-95 disposable respirators to patients, wet buffing, managing pressure in the BMT unit, and properly sealing doors and windows. How could this problem have been prevented?

A: This situation could have been prevented by monitoring the pressure in units adjacent to the construction area.

Editor's note: The above excerpt is from the new online course, "Nursing CE Series: Understanding the importance of infection control during construction." For more information on this and other courses for nursing credit in our Nursing library, go to www.hcprofessor.com and click on Nursing CE Series.

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