Throat swab in the nurses’ room???

Question

Dear expert team,

Last time at our CF clinic, Louis was weighed and measured at the nurses’ station – okay – but the nurse also did a throat swab there without first disinfecting her hands, which shocked me very much.

The new CF journal made me panic even more now.

Is something like this normal, or does it only happen in our CF clinic? We have been having our problems there anyway, because we have been begging for a statement and they keep putting us off.

Regards,
Michelle

Answer

Hello,

Usually, CF clinics pay strict attention to hygienic measures. The patients are usually separated depending on germ colonization and are being called in on different days. In our clinic, after every patient the nurse disinfects the surface of the stretcher and/or all parts of it that the patient has come in contact with. Both the doctor and the nurse disinfect their hands prior to every exam. The throat swab procedure is standardized and can therefore be done by the nurse without any problems.

The contents of the muko.info journal [translator’s comment: muko.info is the journal of the German CF patient organization] reflects the current status of the discussion around hygienic measures very well and should prompt discussions about different contents with your own CF care team as well.

Regarding the pending statement, I would recommend a further conversation with the head of the CF clinic in order to clarify these questions. Particularly genetic results can take quite some time, though.

Kind regards
Dr. H. Ellemunter

06.09.2010