Prevention of pathogen transmission during ultrasound use in the Intensive Care Unit: Recommendations from the College of Intensive Care Medicine Ultrasound Special Interest Group (USIG)

Cartan Costello; Jocelyne M Basseal; Yang Yang; James Anstey; Konstantin Yastrebov

doi:10.1002/ajum.12205

Prevention of pathogen transmission during ultrasound use in the Intensive Care Unit: Recommendations from the College of Intensive Care Medicine Ultrasound Special Interest Group (USIG)

Australas J Ultrasound Med. 2020 May 29;23(2):103-110. doi: 10.1002/ajum.12205. eCollection 2020 May.

Authors

Cartan Costello¹, Jocelyne M Basseal², Yang Yang³, James Anstey⁴, Konstantin Yastrebov⁵

Affiliations

¹ Wollongong Hospital Wollongong New South Wales Australia.
² Discipline of Infectious Diseases & Immunology Faculty of Health and Medicine The University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia.
³ Department of Surgery University of Melbourne Australia Monash University Eastern Clinical School Melbourne Victoria Australia.
⁴ Royal Melbourne Hospital Parkville Victoria Australia.
⁵ St George Hospital Prince of Wales Hospital University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia.

Abstract

ICU ultrasonography constitutes important part of modern car patient care. Current standards and practice of infection control and prevention are inadequate. This purpose of this document is to adapt and expand the 2017 Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine (ASUM) and the Australasian College for Infection Prevention Control (ACIPC) guidelines on minimum standards for reprocessing/cleaning of ultrasound transducers to the specifics of intensive care medicine and provide advice to the ICU practitioners and health care administrators. It considers the medical, administrative, financial and practical controversies surrounding implementation, and addresses emerging issues of care for patients with confirmed or suspected Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Keywords: ICU; disinfection; guidelines; infection prevention; intensive care; patient safety; recommendations; ultrasound.