P290: Infection control in dialysis unit-difficult but not impossible
https://doi.org/10.1186/2047-2994-2-S1-P290
© Sri Ratnamani et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013
Published: 20 June 2013
Keywords
Introduction
Infection control in the dialysis unit has its own concerns. These patients are prone to Hospital acquired infections due their lowered immune status, repeated hospital admissions and multiple lines. Infection complications include bacterial and blood borne pathogens either by water, equipment or environment. We implemented a few basic practices to control the infections in our Dialysis unit.
Objectives
Implementation of Infection control practices in Dialysis unit.
Methods
First the parameters which needed to be monitored in the Dialysis unit was decided. It included both inpatients and outpatients.
Quality indicators
1)Number of patients undergoing dialysis developing CLBSI 2)Serconversion in these patients.3)Surveillance of water quality(RO water& Dialysate).
Implemented practices
a)SUD reuse policy. b)Appropriate handling of dirty hemodialysers. c)Proper disinfection of dialysis machines(internal & External). d)Proper disinfectation of vascular access prior to cannulation. e)Unannounced audits and corrective actions. f)Good & effective Post exposure prophylaxis for staff. g)Dedicated equipment for HBS Ag, HCV positive patients. [1, 2]
Results
By regular monitoring of these parameters we been able to control infections in dialysis patients. This month the dialysis unit got best unit award as a rolling trophy.
Conclusion
Dialysis units need a stringent Infection control practices. Lack of time and will to implement need to be addressed. Educating the staff and constant motivation helps in achieving this goal. A good staff to patient ratio should also be maintained.
Declarations
Authors’ Affiliations
References
- Dix Kathy: Infection Control in the Dialysis Setting. Posted in Articles, Infections, Healthcare-Acquired Infections (HAIS), Hepatitis, Infectious Diseases, Viruses, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), Public Health, Guidelines & Regulations, Research & Studies, Patient/Worker Safety, Surveillance & EpidemiologyGoogle Scholar
- CDC: “Recommended set of interventions to prevent blood stream infections (BSI) in hemodialysis patient”s.Google Scholar
Copyright
This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
