"With all of the implantable devices and advanced procedures, it is becoming difficult to distinguish the cardiovascular catheterization laboratory from the surgical suite," said Dr. Charles E. Chambers, lead author of the new guidelines and a professor of medicine and radiology at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, PA. "Infections in the cardiovascular cath lab are very uncommon, and it is essential that this continue to be the case."
SCAI members themselves identified the need for updated infection-control guidelines. In a member survey, nearly 80 percent of respondents called for SCAI to revise the prior infection-control recommendations.
Dr. Chambers and a panel of experts from interventional cardiology and infection control did just that, culling the most pertinent information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other resources, and tailoring it specifically for the cardiovascular catheterization laboratory.
The resulting guidelines provide detailed information on, among other things, the selection of antibacterial soaps, the circumstances under which patients should receive an antibiotic, protective masks and other garb to be worn by cath lab staff, and the acceptable level of air circulation in the cath lab.
"The guidelines are more comprehensive than the earlier version. They outline the preparation and protection of patients, the protection of
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Contact: Kathy Boyd David
afrazier@scai.org
717-241-2470
Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions
6-Dec-2005