Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

To be able to give optimal care to patients in small animal hospitals, we have to have knowledge about how to prevent the spread of infection. An important part in this is hand hygiene routines. We have to clean hands whenever they are visibly dirty, and disinfect them regularly in between. Another important part is the cleaning and disinfection of the environment in the clinic, and also the cleaning, disinfection and sterilization of medical instruments. Other important parts are isolation of patients with known infections, to wear clothes with short sleeves and to wash them at least once daily, to wear gloves, having short nails and not wearing jewelry when working. To have written routines and guidelines is important and recommended by several organizations worldwide. But for them to be effective we have to work actively for good compliance among personnel. A small study shows that there are big differences between animal hospitals and clinics in Sweden. Some does not have any written guidelines at all, and some have detailed routines for the clinic and personnel. There are a lot of studies on infection control in human hospitals which we can learn from, but we also need more research specifically on animal hospitals. Hopefully this study can help as part of basic material for veterinarians and veterinary nurses who wants to work with hygiene and infection control in their clinics.