Side Effects of Contact Isolation in the Intensive Care Unit

With today's rapidly increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, limiting the spread of such pathogens is crucial. Although improving hand hygiene is generally accepted as efficacious, the wisdom of placing patients infected or colonized with such pathogens on contact isolation — although recommended in most infection-control guidelines and widely practiced — has recently been challenged (NEJM JW Infect Dis Oct 17 2013). Patients on contact isolation are at risk for receiving less attention from their caregivers, but does reduced contact translate into medical errors?

To explore this issue, researchers in France analyzed data on 1150 critically ill adults (8726 patient days in 2 intensive care units) collected in the context of th…