SHEA Guidelines and Expert Guidance Documents

SHEA Expert Guidance Documents, Expert Consensus Statements, Guidelines, and White Papers are developed by panels of experts who review the available evidence, and apply their clinical experience and expertise to make practical recommendations. The process for development of the first three types of documents is described in the Handbook for SHEA-Sponsored Expert Guidance, Consensus, and Guideline Documents (pdf). The Handbook does not define the development process for white papers. The Handbook is reviewed and updated periodically by the SHEA Guidelines Committee, and updates are approved by the Board of Trustees.

  • Necessary Infrastructure of Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology Programs
    Current - Epidemiology, Fundamentals, Institutional Policy
    Author:
    SHEA
    Published:
    February 1, 2016
    Abstract:

    The scope of a healthcare institution’s infection prevention and control/healthcare epidemiology program (IPC/HE) should be driven by the size and complexity of the patient population served, that population’s risk for healthcare-associated infection (HAI), and local, state, and national regulatory and accreditation requirements. Essential activities of all IPC/HE programs are reviewed in this white paper.

    Authors: Kristina A. Bryant, Anthony D. Harris, Carolyn V. Gould, Eve Humphreys, Tammy Lundstrom, Denise M. Murphy, Russell Olmsted, Shannon Oriola and Danielle Zerr

    Reviewed: November 2018

  • Animals in Healthcare Facilities
    Current - Guidelines, Infection Prevention, Institutional Policy, Patient Education
    Author:
    SHEA
    Published:
    March 2, 2015
    Abstract:

    This SHEA expert guidance provides general guidance to the medical community regarding the management of animals in healthcare based on analysis of the medical literature regarding risks and evidence for animal-to-human transmission of pathogens in the healthcare setting, along with the potential benefits of animal-assisted activities in healthcare, review of hospital policies related to animals in healthcare, and a SHEA Research Network survey assessing institutional policies. It offers specific guidance for acute care hospitals and ambulatory care facilities to develop or modify policies related to animals based on their role (i.e., animal-assisted activities, service animals, research animals, and personal pet visitation). It is not intended to guide the management of animals in other healthcare facilities such as assisted living, nursing homes, or extended-care facilities.

    Authors: Murthy R, Bearman G, Brown S, Bryant K, Chinn R, Hewlett A, George BG, Goldstein EJC, Holzmann-Pazgal G, Rupp ME, Wiemken T, Weese JS, Weber DJ

    Reviewed: April 2019

  • Infection Prevention and Control in Residential Facilities
    Current - Guidelines, Hand Hygiene, Immunocompromised Patients, Infection Prevention, Institutional Policy, Patients, Pediatrics
    Author:
    SHEA
    Published:
    October 1, 2013
    Abstract:

    This SHEA guideline is the first infection prevention and control guideline to address preventing transmission of infectious agents in “home away from home” residential settings, of which the Ronald McDonald Houses (RMHs) serve as a prototype. Pediatric patients are frequent guests of the family-centered facilities while receiving or recovering from specialized medical therapy. Examples of high-risk populations served in these facilities include families of patients with cancer, recipients of stem cell or solid organ transplants, surgical and/or very-low-birthweight infants who receive care in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), those with cystic fibrosis, and women with high-risk pregnancies awaiting.

    Authors: Guzman-Cottrill JA, Ravin KA, Bryant KA, Zerr DM, Kociolek L, Siegel JD

  • Disinfection and Sterilization of Prion-Contaminated Medical Instruments
    Current - Guidelines, Infection Prevention, Sterilization and Disinfection
    Author:
    SHEA
    Published:
    February 1, 2010
    Abstract:

    This SHEA guideline provides recommendations for disinfection and sterilization of medical instruments in order to prevent Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease (CJD), a degenerative neurologic disorder caused by a proteinaceous infectious agent. Prion diseases elicit no immune response, result in a noninflammatory pathologic process confined to the central nervous system, have an incubation period of years, and usually are fatal within 1 year after diagnosis.

    Authors: Rutala WA, Weber DJ

    Reviewed: 2014

  • Infection Prevention and Control in the Long-Term Care Facility
    Current - Clinical Practice, Infection Prevention, Long-Term Care
    Author:
    APIC, SHEA
    Published:
    September 1, 2008
    Abstract:

    This SHEA/APIC guideline provides recommendations for prevention and control of infections in long-term care facilities, including UTIs, respiratory tract infections, skin and soft-tissue infections and infestations, gastrointestinal infections, infections caused by antibiotic-resistant organisms, and epidemic infections. It also reviews the structure and elements of infection control programs in the long-term care setting, regulatory considerations, education, and surveillance.

    Authors: Bratzler D, Dellinger EP, Olsen K, Perl T, Autwaerter P, Bolon M, Fish D, Napolitano L, Sawyer R, Slain D, Steinberg J, Weinstein R

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