Date of Last Review 3/16/10
Date of Last Review 10/18/10
Date of Last Review 10/31/11
SME: Infection Control Manager
This topic provides information about the actions taken to prevent the potential
spread of lice in the hospital.
A UTHCPC employee, visitor, or volunteer is exposed to lice if s/he has close contact with a patient known to have lice.
A Treatment Team member advises family members having close daily contact with the lice-infected patient of the following:
 | Patient's condition |
| Appropriateness for evaluation and treatment themselves |
Visits
UTHCPC discourages visitors from close contact with the patient until all treatments are complete
Patient access to day room and group contact
UTHCPC does not allow lice-infected patients to have free access to the day room or group contact until s/he has had the following:
| At least one treatment |
| Instruction on dealing with his/her condition |
Employees
UTHCPC refers employees with suspected lice infection to the Employee Health Clinic, or the physician of their choice, for evaluation and/or treatment.
Visitors and volunteers
UTHCPC refers others to the physician of their choice for evaluation and/or treatment.
Patient instruction includes the following, at a minimum:
| Instruct the patient on good personal hygiene. |
| Advise the patient not to use anyone else's personal items or clothing and not to lend their things to other persons. |
| Inform the patient that re-infestation can occur. |
| Advise the patient not to rest their heads on couches, the backs of chairs, or carpets when visiting the day room. |
UTHCPC personnel giving direct care to patients with lice must wear gowns and gloves until s/he has washed the patient's hair with the appropriate shampoo at least once.
The Charge Nurse may choose to initiate the housekeeping duties in the following process, when housekeeping personnel are not available to clean the room, based on the following factors:
| Maintenance of a clean environment |
| Availability of alternative rooms for the infected person's use |
| Workload requirements |
This table describes the process for cleaning the lice-infected patient and his/her room:
Stage |
Description | ||||||||
1 |
The nurse treats the infected patient with Kwell or Permethrin Shampoo, or an approved equivalent. | ||||||||
2 |
The nurse cleans and disinfects all of the patient's personal items. Examples: Combs and brushes | ||||||||
3 |
The nurse washes the patient's clothing in hot, soapy water and dries them on the hot cycle. | ||||||||
4 |
The nurse places the patient's linens in linen bags provided by the Linen Supervisor. | ||||||||
5 |
Housekeeping sprays the following with Permethrin:
| ||||||||
6 |
Housekeeping vacuums the room thoroughly and disposes of the vacuum bag in accordance with UTHCPC Housekeeping procedures. | ||||||||
7 |
Everyone involved repeats the process in seven days. Reason: To kill any newly hatched eggs. |
Pediculosis (Lice) Screening and Documentation
The Joint Commission : Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of Infection
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