BARRIER PRECAUTIONS IN TRAUMA RESUSCITATION - REAL-TIME ANALYSIS UTILIZING VIDEOTAPE REVIEW

Blood-borne pathogens threaten all individuals invoked in emergency he alth care. Despite recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and the American College of Emergency Physicians, documented complianc e with universal precautions in trauma resuscitation has been poor. Th e purpose of this study was to determine the factors that predispose t o noncompliance with barrier precautions at a level I trauma center. V ideotapes of trauma resuscitations performed during 1 month (n = 66) w ere reviewed. Full compliance with barrier precautions was documented in 89.1% of health care workers. Of the noncompliant health care worke rs, 50.7% were emergency department personnel and 47.8% were first res ponders to the trauma resuscitation area. Barrier precaution complianc e improved from 62.5% to 91.8% with prenotification of patient arrival . Immediate access to barrier equipment is essential for all potential in-hospital first responders. Prehospital communication systems shoul d be optimized to ensure prenotification. Copyright (C) 1997 by W.B. S aunders Company