RSV and contact precautions question

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 20, 2005

No, I don't think you were over-reacting in thinking about the other patients. However, the single most effective way to prevent the spread of RSV is simple handwashing. Many facilities have stopped gowning and gloving for RSV, with no correlating increase in nosocomial spread.

lee1 · Feb 7, 2005

No, I don't think you were over-reacting in thinking about the other patients. However, the single most effective way to prevent the spread of RSV is simple handwashing. Many facilities have stopped gowning and gloving for RSV, with no correlating increase in nosocomial spread.

Do you know if pregnant visitors should have to worry about anything??

shanrn1 · Feb 10, 2005

I was wondering if you seasoned pedi nurses can help me out here. I'm a third semester student on my pedi rotation, day one. I had a great experience and think I'd love it but I digress. My patient was an 8 week old with RSV. I had been observing contact precautions, taking a BP when in walks the respiratory therapist, no mask and no gloves. I reminded her that the baby was on contact precautions. She replies that she's not worried about getting it because she's had it and in an adult, it's no big deal.
Truth be told, it wasn't her I was thinking of, but the other little ones on the floor she'd be visiting with her as a possible carrier. How should I have handled the situation? Would I have been overreacting to require her to mask and glove?

I have been a pediatric nurse for 10 years and have worked in many areas of the hospital. I think staff tend to look at students differently than they do at the regular staff it is not right but that is what sometimes happens. I think you did the right thing but if you did not get the response you wanted than I think you should have gone to the instructor or the staff nurse that the patient was assigned to and had them talk to the RT. You always need to think of the the children. Isolation precautions are there for a reason.