Cohorting with infections

as far as i can remember and based on experience, cohorting patients are a case-to-case basis. you can cohort patients as long as the circumstance allows you to do so.

private room is the ideal confinement (droplet & contact because airbourne patients ideally should be in a AIIR) to avoid transmition and decrease contamination. if this is not available, this will be the time patients are either brought to another hospital will sufficient capabilities to take care of them or cohort patients of same type of infection (or based on clinical manifestations if diagnosis is NOT available). this is true to pts on airbourne, droplet and contact precautions.

never cohort patient 1 (scarlet fever) with patient 2 (pneumonia) just because they both are on droplet precaution. never cohort patient 3 (12 YO with pneumonia) with patient 4 (28 YO with pneumonia) because patient 3 is more susceptable to further complications than patient 4. TB patients should be in AIIR as much as possible with 6 or 12 air exchanges (depending on the facilily) per hour. if NOT possible, cohort in private room but ensure that they are strategically placed >3feet apart from each other with privacy curtains separating them.

this may have changed since we had our seminar with CDC. i might be right or wrong but i'm sure someone will post a better answer if there is.

best wishes for your exams.

Gotcha! Thanks for the clarifications!