Contact Precaution Room Workflow

Key Points

• Contact precautions are used for infections spread by direct skin contact or contaminated surfaces/equipment.
• Gloves and isolation gown are required whenever touching the patient in contact isolation.
• PPE must be discarded before exiting the room to limit transmission.

Equipment

• Contact-isolation signage and room assignment in a single patient space
• Gloves and isolation gowns at point of entry
• Dedicated or disposable patient-care equipment
• Cleaning/disinfection supplies for shared equipment when dedicated use is unavoidable

Procedure Steps

1. Confirm contact-precaution indication and assign patient to a single patient space.
2. Verify room entry supplies include gloves and isolation gowns.
3. Don required PPE before patient contact activities.
4. Perform care while minimizing unnecessary environmental contact.
5. Use disposable or dedicated equipment for the isolated patient whenever possible.
6. If common equipment must be used, clean and disinfect it fully before next-patient use.
7. Remove and discard gown and gloves before exiting the room.
8. Perform hand hygiene after PPE removal.
9. Reassess supply availability and room setup for the next entry.

Common Errors

• Entering contact-isolation room without gown and gloves → direct exposure and transmission risk.
• Removing PPE after room exit instead of before → contamination spread beyond isolation area.
• Reusing shared equipment without disinfection → indirect transmission pathway.
• Inconsistent single-room workflow setup → reduced precaution reliability.

Related

• transmission-based-precautions - Contact precautions are one of the core tier-2 isolation categories.
• isolation-gown-use-and-removal - Correct gown workflow is required for safe contact-isolation practice.