Policy for all AKC cases before the introduction of patient segregation (until May 2001) | Policy for non-epidemic status following the introduction of patient segregation in June 2001 |
Patient examination measures | |
Single use of multidose diagnostic solutions, eg, saline for fluorescein application | Single-dose eye-drops only; all unused units discarded weekly |
Avoidance of both tonometry and the use of diagnostic lenses | No change |
Disinfection of tonometer heads with hypochlorite 0.1% | Use of disposable tonometer heads and disinfection of non contact diagnostic lenses by washing under tap water before soaking in hypochlorite 0.1% for 5 min; contact diagnostic lenses are sterilised in gas plasma (ethylene oxide before 2005) |
Handwashing with soap and water following clinical examination | Handwashing with soap and water, hibiscrub or betadine, before and after contact with every patient |
Cleaning slit-lamp surfaces after clinical examination with 70% isopropyl alcohol | Cleaning slit-lamp surfaces before and after clinical examination with 70% isopropyl alcohol |
Patient-segregation measures | |
Patients with acute conjunctivitis identified at triage in A&E and their clinical notes marked to identify patients to staff | |
Identified patients sent to a separate waiting area outside a designated examination cubicle (the Red Room) | |
Patients examined in designated cubicle and sent home as soon as a clinician is free, to reduce exposure time of the patient to common waiting and examination areas | |
Patient advice sheet | |
None | Patient given advice sheet about AKC and methods of avoiding cross-infection |
Policy for epidemic status* following the introduction of patient segregation in June 2001 | |
Patients with acute conjunctivitis identified at the Hospital Entrance by a trained nurse and sent to a designated waiting area before examination in the Red Room | |
Measures for infected doctors | |
Suspended from patient contact until 2 weeks after the onset of symptoms in the second eye | Unchanged |
*Defined as increasing numbers of cases of nosocomial infection uncontrolled by non-epidemic measures.