Infection Prevention Guidelines
Evidence-based guidelines for infection prevention practice — methodology, implementation, and quality standards.
Infection Prevention
The cross-department infection prevention hub — CLABSI prevention (program-level and ICU-level), ventilator-associated pneumonia, hand hygiene, ANTT, precautions, skin antisepsis, and the guideline development handbook, indexed in one place.
Infection prevention is the discipline of stopping healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) before they occur: hand hygiene, aseptic technique, standard and transmission-based precautions, device-specific prevention bundles, surveillance, and the institutional policies and competency programs that turn those practices into routine. Device-associated infections — central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) among them — are a central target, because they are both measurable and preventable.
This section works differently from the other department hubs. Infection prevention content on The Clinical Database lives where the devices and patients are — in the Vascular Access department, the ICU guideline library, and the institutional policy library — and this page is the cross-department index that ties it together. Native to this section is the guideline development handbook, the methodology reference for how evidence-based guidelines are built.
CLABSI Prevention
CLABSI content is deliberately split by intent:
- Program and bundle level — the CLABSI Prevention guide tree in the Vascular Access department: the head-term reference for building and running a prevention program across a facility.
- Critical care context — the ICU CLABSI Prevention guideline series: the same problem inside the ICU, where line density, acuity, and CRBSI diagnosis and management dominate.
| Resource | Covers |
|---|---|
| CLABSI Prevention Framework (guide tree) | The program-level head reference |
| — CLABSI Definition & Epidemiology | NHSN definitions, incidence, attributable cost and mortality |
| — Insertion Bundle | The evidence-based insertion bundle, element by element |
| — Maintenance Bundle | Dressing, access, and daily-necessity review during dwell |
| — Chlorhexidine Gluconate & CLABSI | CHG skin antisepsis, bathing, and dressings |
| — Antimicrobial Catheters & Dressings | Impregnated catheters and engineered dressings |
| — Needleless Connectors & CLABSI | Hub disinfection and connector design |
| ICU CLABSI Prevention (guideline series) | The critical-care synthesis, in four parts |
| — Part 1 | Definitions, epidemiology & pathogenesis |
| — Part 2 | Insertion bundle & maintenance bundle |
| — Part 3 | Supplemental strategies, CRBSI diagnosis & management |
| — Part 4 | Special populations, surveillance & implementation science |
Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia
The VAP guideline series in the ICU library covers the second major device-associated infection:
| Part | Covers |
|---|---|
| Part 1 | VAP/VAE definitions, epidemiology, pathogenesis & risk factors |
| Part 2 | Prevention bundles & supplemental strategies |
| Part 3 | Diagnosis & antimicrobial treatment |
| Part 4 | Specific pathogens, surveillance & quality metrics |
Infection Prevention Policies
The vascular access policy library includes institution-ready policy documents for the core infection prevention practices:
| Policy | Covers |
|---|---|
| Hand Hygiene | Indications, technique, products, and compliance monitoring |
| Aseptic Non-Touch Technique (ANTT) | The ANTT framework for clinical procedures |
| Standard Precautions | The baseline precautions applied to all patient care |
| Transmission-Based Precautions | Contact, droplet, and airborne precautions |
| Site Preparation & Skin Antisepsis | Skin antisepsis for vascular access procedures |
| VAD-Related Infections | Prevention, recognition, and management of device-related infections |
| Medical Waste & Sharps Safety | Sharps handling and waste stream management |
Guideline Development Methodology
Native to this section: the Handbook for Infection Prevention Guideline Development, a methodology reference for developing, implementing, and maintaining evidence-based infection prevention guidelines within a healthcare organization.
| Part | Covers |
|---|---|
| Part 1 | The development process |
| Part 2 | Document types, proposal forms & evidence classification |
| Part 3 | Development checklists, author roles & inclusive language |
See also the Infection Prevention Guidelines section index.
How to Use This Hub
Use this page as the entry point when the question is infection prevention regardless of department: the tables above route to the right depth, whether that is a bundle element, a CRBSI diagnostic pathway, or the hand hygiene policy an auditor asked for. The guides state the evidence; the guideline series synthesize it for a care setting; the policies convert it into institutional requirements with scope, authority, and effective dates. When adapting any of the policies for a facility, the policy library pillar describes the structure they share and how they cite their sources.
Related Departments
- Vascular Access — the department where most device-infection prevention content lives, including the CLABSI Prevention guide tree and the full policy library
- Critical Care (ICU) — CLABSI and VAP in the critical care context, plus sepsis management once prevention fails
- Emergency Medicine — where line placement under emergent conditions begins the infection prevention chain
- Oncology — febrile neutropenia and central line infections in immunocompromised patients
Frequently asked questions
What is infection prevention?
Infection prevention is the discipline of stopping healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) before they occur — through hand hygiene, aseptic technique, standard and transmission-based precautions, device bundles, surveillance, and the policies and competency programs that make those practices routine. On this site it is organized as a cross-department hub, because infection prevention content lives wherever the devices and patients are: vascular access, the ICU, and institutional policy.
Where is CLABSI prevention covered on this site?
In two places, split by intent. The CLABSI Prevention guide tree in the Vascular Access department covers the program and bundle level — definitions and epidemiology, insertion and maintenance bundles, chlorhexidine, antimicrobial catheters and dressings, and needleless connectors. The ICU CLABSI Prevention guideline series covers the same problem in the critical care context, including CRBSI diagnosis, organism-specific management, and CUSP implementation.
What infection prevention policies are available?
Institution-ready policy documents in the Vascular Access policy library cover hand hygiene, aseptic non-touch technique (ANTT), standard precautions, transmission-based precautions, site preparation and skin antisepsis, prevention and management of device-related infections, and medical waste and sharps safety.
How are infection prevention guidelines developed?
The Handbook for Infection Prevention Guideline Development, indexed in this section, is a three-part methodology reference covering the development process, document types and evidence classification, and development checklists, author roles, and review — the process framework behind evidence-based guideline work.