Infection control, prevention of healthcare-associated infection in primary and community care

This guidance has been replaced by CG139 Infection control

The NICE clinical guideline on infection control provides a set of measures to avoid infection that should be followed by anyone giving or receiving care at home, at a health centre or clinic, or elsewhere in the community.

They cover:

• ways of avoiding infection, including handwashing, using gloves and aprons, using sharps safely, and educating patients and their carers about infection
• ways of avoiding and controlling infection for people who need a urinary catheter, enteral feeding or a central venous catheter

Responsibility for undertaking a review of this guidance at the designated review date has passed to the National Clinical Guidelines Centre for Acute and Chronic Conditions (NCGC-ACC). The National Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Supportive Care is no longer active.

This guideline is currently being reviewed.

• Update to recommendation 1.2.5.13

  Recommendation 1.2.5.13 of the guideline states that antibiotic prophylaxis should be used when changing urinary catheters for patients who have heart valve lesion, septal defect, patent ductus or prosthetic valve. 

  However, this recommendation has now been superseded by recommendation 1.1.3 in the NICE clinical guideline on prophylaxis for infective endocarditis published in March 2008 (CG64 Prophylaxis against infective endocarditis: Antimicrobial prophylaxis against infective endocarditis in adults and children undergoing interventional procedures).

  This recommendation states that:

  1.1.3 Antibiotic prophylaxis against infective endocarditis is not recommended:

  • for people undergoing dental procedures
  • for people undergoing non-dental procedures at the following sites:
  • upper and lower gastrointestinal tract
  • genitourinary tract; this includes urological,
  • gynaecological and obstetric procedures, and childbirth
  • upper and lower respiratory tract; this includes ear, nose and throat procedures and bronchoscopy.

  In view of this, antibiotic prophylaxis is no longer recommended for changing urinary catheters in patients at risk of infective endocarditis.

• Other information

  How this guidance was produced

  Background information

  • None found

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