Terminal cleaning is the thorough cleaning of a room after use, used in healthcare environments to control the spread of infections.
Justification
Nosocomial infections claim approximately 90,000 lives in the United States annually. When patients are hospitalized and identified as having
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of Gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of '' Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in human ...
or infections that can be spread to other patients, best practices isolate these patients in rooms that are subjected to terminal cleaning when the patient is discharged.
For example, terminal cleaning reduces the spread of
''C. difficile'' infections.
Procedure
Terminal cleaning requires cleaning the entire room after use by the patient.
Methods vary, but involve disinfection of all surfaces and discarding all disposable items and cleaning rags or towels as medical waste.
[
]
See also
* Nosocomial infection
A hospital-acquired infection, also known as a nosocomial infection (from the Greek , meaning "hospital"), is an infection that is acquired in a hospital or other health care facility. To emphasize both hospital and nonhospital settings, it is so ...
* MRSA
Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of Gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...
* VRE
* ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa
''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common encapsulated, gram-negative, aerobic–facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, ''P. aerug ...
''
References
{{reflist
Disinfectants
Medical terminology
Medical hygiene
Cleaning methods