Question

[kidsarespecial2]

Just wondering how other PICU's handle infection control with your bedside carts in your patient rooms.

Do you keep the same cart for subsequent patients?

Do you throw away everything and restock before the next patient?

Do you have a special smaller cart that you use when a patient is in isolation so you don't cotaminate supplies?

We have large beside carts in our unit. When we have a patient in isolation, we get equipment from that cart with our gloved hands and potentially contaminate supplies. We currently clean the outside of the cart when the pt is discharged, but don't throw out any of the supplies inside.

thanks for your input!

[kessadawn, BSN, RN]

our picu is set up as many private rooms as opposed to a large ward with multiple beds. we have a cart at the outside of the door to each room needing isolation supplies that contains isolation gowns, masks and gloves. disposible stethoscopes are at the bedside, but not truly disposible, they get cleaned with cavicide and stored in supply room until needed again. isolation carts are not contaminated because they are outside of the room, so we can just restock them as needed and move them to whatever doorway that needs them. we always take off gowns, masks and gloves when retrieving additional supplies. hope that helps!

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

Our supply carts are inside the room, although we have an isolation cart as described by kessadawn outside the room as well. The only patients we discard items from our supply cart after are those with multiple-drug resistant organisms. I try to collect all the supplies I'm going to need for whatever I'm doing after putting on clean gloves but before touching the patient or anything else in the room. We have a very low incidence of cross-contamination related transmission.