Dead In Their Tracks?: Best Practice For Precautions Against MDROs

An increasingly common problem for hospitals in recent years has been the rise of Multidrug Resistant Organisms, or MDROs (Czaja, 2012). These organisms, which are resistant to multiple antibiotics, can pose a problem as they are difficult to kill. While they are not a threat to healthy individuals, they can affect patients with invasive devices or suppressed immune systems (Czaja, 2012). These organisms can cause issues for hospitals as they can drive up costs and increase the pain and suffering of patients infected. One way to prevent the spread of MDROs is Contact Precautions, or CPs. Consisting of a gown and gloves, CPs are designed to prevent the spread of MDROs via physical transmission. However, with the extra cost of CPs, as well as compliance problems, some may wonder if CPs are worth it. My preceptor for my clinical rotations suggested I look further into this issue, so I decided to research CPs. While there are benefits to CPs, there are some unintended side effects as well. CPs may not be a one-size-fits-all solution either. We will take a closer look at CPs to determine their true effectiveness. While prevention is the best method, there may not be one best method of prevention.