Since it is a sterile environment, and since OSHA requires specific management of communicable disease exposures, it would be appropriate to maintain those protocols in the OR. The entire perioperative experience for the patient should follow contact precautions.
Some organizational considerations would be the identification of high-risk patients that would not be good candidates in the center, preoperative nursing assessments should be completed and physician involvement should be part of the decision to do the case in the first place. All of these are fairly standard.
Follow-up calls or an infection post-op call should be completed for all patients but these should have some special follow-up and notations. As always, we would expect all measures be employed to prevent the spread of infection.
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I would also suggest reading “Multidrug-Resistant Organisms: Practice Considerations in the Ambulatory Surgery Setting—Part One” from the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing (Vol. 26, Issue 4, Aug. 2011). At the end of the article there are also many other references that are very helpful.
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