Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 46 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS › Part XLV - Medical Professions › Subpart 3 - Practice › Chapter 67 - Preventing Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) during Exposure-Prone Invasive Procedures › Section XLV-6705 - Use of Infection Control Precautions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. General Requirements. A practitioner who
				  performs or participates in an invasive procedure or performs a function
				  ancillary to an invasive procedure shall, in performance of or participation in
				  any such procedure or function, be familiar with, observe and rigorously adhere
				  to both general infection control practices and universal blood and body-fluid
				  precautions as then recommended by the Federal Centers for Disease Control to
				  minimize the risk of the transmission of HBV or HIV from a practitioner to a
				  patient, from a patient to a practitioner, or from a patient to a
				  patient.
B. Universal Blood and
				  Body-Fluid Precautions. For purposes of this Section, adherence to universal
				  blood and body-fluid precautions requires observance of the following minimum
				  standards.
1. Protective Barriers. A
				  practitioner shall routinely use appropriate barrier precautions to prevent
				  skin and mucous-membrane contact with blood and other body fluids of all
				  patients. Gloves and surgical masks shall be worn and shall be changed after
				  contact with each patient. Protective eyewear or face shields and gowns or
				  aprons made of materials that provide an effective barrier shall be worn during
				  procedures that commonly result in the generation of droplets, splashing of
				  blood or body fluids, or the generation of bone chips. A practitioner who
				  performs, participates in, or assists in a vaginal or caesarean delivery shall
				  wear gloves and gowns when handling the placenta or the infant until blood and
				  amniotic fluid have been removed from the infant's skin and shall wear gloves
				  during post-delivery care of the umbilical cord. If, during any invasive
				  procedure, a glove is torn or punctured, the glove should be removed and a new
				  glove used as promptly as patient safety permits.
2. Hand Washing. Hands and other skin
				  surfaces shall be washed immediately and thoroughly if contaminated with blood
				  or other body fluids. Hands shall be washed immediately after gloves are
				  removed.
3. Percutaneous Injury
				  Precautions. A practitioner shall take appropriate precautions to prevent
				  injuries caused by needles, scalpels, and other sharp instruments or devices
				  during procedures; when cleaning used instruments; during disposal of used
				  needles; and when handling sharp instruments after procedures. If a needlestick
				  injury occurs, the needle or instrument involved in the incident should be
				  removed from the sterile field. To prevent needlestick injuries, needles should
				  not be recapped, purposely bent, or broken by hand, removed from disposable
				  syringes, or otherwise manipulated by hand. After they are used, disposable
				  syringes and needles, scalpel blades, and other sharp items should be placed
				  for disposal in puncture-resistant containers located as close as practical to
				  the use area. Large-bore reusable needles should be placed in
				  puncture-resistant containers for transport to the reprocessing area.
4. Resuscitation Devices. To minimize the
				  need for emergency mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, a practitioner shall ensure
				  that mouthpieces, resuscitation bags, or other ventilation devices are
				  available for use in areas in which the need for resuscitation is
				  predictable.
5. Sterilization and
				  Disinfection. Instruments or devices that enter sterile tissue or the vascular
				  system of any patient or through which blood flows should be sterilized before
				  reuse. Devices or items that contact intact mucous membranes should be
				  sterilized or receive high-level disinfection.