MRSA/gowns and gloves

Specialties NICU

Published

HI Guys,

WE have had our second serious outbreak of MRSA(meaning more that one patient at at time) and our unit is in an uproar! The staff have all been swabbed twice and the babies are being swabbed once a week. I have two questions that I really need some input about. First--Our manager has reccommended that we start wearing gowns and gloves when performing routine care for all of our patients, esp. during bottle feeding. Is this reaally necc? I just feel like this is to cold--some of the only touch some of our patients get comes from the nursing staff during routine care.

Second--When MRSA is among you---Do you allow a MRSA assignment to care for a routine stable feeder grower with no PIV or Central line access or not? I know there is literature out there, All the "good books" are at the hospital and I am on vacation, just wanted to here what you had to say as I was searching the net.

Thanks for your time!

Specializes in 5 NICU,7NBN/MTHR-BABY, 1 medsurg.

Thank you so much for all your input, I hate to say(type) this out loud, but I really did not find any EBP that would lead to wearing gowns for normal care, most of what I read was just the opposite,that they had not been proven effective. AS far as gloves for all patient care, I have always understood that we wear them when coming in contact with blood and or body fluid, I can see that for breast milk, but do adult nurses wear gloves to do an assessment and to feed patients,etc, even on Chemo units and ICU's? I realize that we are dealing with a special population, but is it really necc. to put the whole unit in what seems to be contact isolation and if so what is the point of having specific guidelines for contact isolation?

Just curious........By the way we decided for now only to wear gowns when our patients are in contact isolation, gloves when coming in contact with body fluids, with very strict isolation precautions for our babes with MRSA.

Thank you for all your input, I have enjoyed reading your comments and have learned from all of you. ;)

Specializes in NICU.

Our babies are all swabbed on admission and then again every two weeks. If a baby comes up positive, he or she is cohorted. Nurses caring for MRSA babies are cohorted as well during that shift. If the baby is one of twins/triplets/etc. then we cohort the whole family because the parents will be touching all the babies. We gown and glove for contact with MRSA patients, same goes for the parents. We even gown and glove if we're at the bedside charting and not touching the baby. Only used Bactroban once and wonder why we haven't since...right now we cohort kids from the day they swab positive until the day they're discharged.

Specializes in Psych, Informatics, Biostatistics.

My nephew was born at 24 weeks at 1 lb 4oz. Three weeks later my mom tells me he has an infection and that he has blood in his stool. What does this mean?

I am not sure. He is in Toronto at either Mt Sinai or St Micheals. I am in Phili.

Thoughts?

HI Guys,

The staff have all been swabbed twice

The staff was swabbed? That's outrageous. I would never submit to that. And what the heck would happen when you come up positive? MRSA is so prevalent in the community now (70% are infected by one recent study). And was every family member, piece of equipment and all the people that touched anything swabbed as well? The day I am asked for a swab I walk.

Specializes in NICU. L&D, PP, Nursery.

What would happen to a nurse that tests positive?

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