Duration of Contact Precautions for Acute-Care Settings

PURPOSE This expert guidance document (EG) provides recommendations regarding discontinuation of contact precautions (CP) at the individual patient level in acute-care hospitals employing CP for 1 or more of the following organisms: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), Clostridium difficile, and multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (MDR-E), including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)–producing organisms. All authors are involved at their respective institutions in the development of policies pertaining to CP, either directly or in an advisory role. For high-risk patients, such as those with chronic wounds or patients from long-term care facilities, we recommend extending CP from the last MRSA-positive culture, prior to assessing for CP discontinuation. 4. Patients with chronic wounds and those from long-term care facilities may be at higher risk for persistent MRSA colonization and recolonization13; thus, for these patients, hospitals may extend CP.