Removing a Patient from Isolation
MRSA and VRE
Patients infected or colonized with MRSA or VRE may remain
colonized for prolonged periods and may continue to shed organisms into the
environment, serving as a nidus for continued transmission. To document that a patient is “decolonized,”
obtain screening cultures (rectal swabs for VRE or nares swabs for MRSA).
-Patient should be off antibiotics for at least 48 hours
-Cultures should be obtained three times, one week apart
Tuberculosis
Patients with known or suspected TB can be removed from
airborne isolation in the following situations:
a. Suspected TB
-Diagnosis is confirmed to be something other than
tuberculosis, and tuberculosis is no longer in the differential diagnosis.
OR
-Three sputum specimens from three separate days are
reported as negative for acid fast bacilli (AFB).
b. Smear positive for AFB
-Cultures or other laboratory tests reveal AFB to be other
species of AFB (non-tuberculous).
c. Known Pulmonary TB
-Patient is on effective therapy
-Patient is clinically improving
-Sputum smear is AFB-negative on three separate days