Standard precautions--a new approach to reducing infection transmission in the hospital setting.

Hospital-acquired infections with drug-resistant organisms, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, pose threats to healthcare workers and patient safety. Authors discuss the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines that introduced "Standard Precautions." Proposed in 1996, the Standard Precautions guidelines are a new, two-tiered approach to infection control. These CDC guidelines take a broader approach than Universal Precautions, offering infection control precautions that are standard for all patients and include bloodborne, airborne, and epidemiologically important pathogens. Specific applications of Standard Precautions and implications for IV therapy nurses are presented.