Isolation Precautions Isolation precautions create barriers between microbes and patients, staff, and equipment to prevent the spread of infection in the health care setting.

Managing COVID-19 ARDS in Adults Patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia develop acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. While severely hypoxic COVID-19 patients meet the criteria for typical acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), COVID-19 ARDS has unique characteristics...

Preventing and Managing Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections Central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) is defined as a laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection (not related to an infection at another site) where a central line was in place within the 48-hour period before the development of...

Prone Positioning: Conscious, Non-Intubated Patient with COVID-19 ARDS Prone positioning for conscious, non-intubated patients with COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been widely adopted. Awake pronation of patients with severe hypoxia from COVID-19 is associated with decreased intubation rates...

Proning Therapy for Patients with ARDS Prone ventilation is a technique of turning a patient with severe hypoxic respiratory failure from the supine to the prone position to improve oxygenation. This maneuver has been successful in the management of patients with acute lung injury or...

Pulmonary Assessment Focused pulmonary assessment begins with a thorough health history. While doing so, carefully observe for conversational dyspnea and other symptoms. Order of examination is performed as inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation.Optimal...

Recognizing and Managing Adult Viral Respiratory Infections Adult viral illnesses are a common cause of respiratory tract disease, with severity ranging from a mild cold to life-threatening influenza. The mechanisms by which respiratory viruses spread from person to person are variable and include...

Recognizing and Managing Influenza In the northern hemisphere, the typical influenza (flu) season starts as early as October and can last until May, affecting individuals in all age groups, with the highest rates of infection among children. There are 4 types of influenza viruses...

Sexually Transmitted Diseases Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) refer to a variety of clinical syndromes and infections caused by pathogens that can be acquired and transmitted through sexual activity. STDs are very common; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

Surgical Site Infection Prevention Surgical site infections (SSIs) are infections that occur after surgery in the area of the body where the surgery was performed (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019). SSIs are one of the most common and costly healthcare...