Infection prevention strategies for procedures performed outside operating rooms: A conceptual integrated model

Abstract

No comprehensive guidelines or classification exist for infection prevention strategies for medical procedures performed outside operating rooms. We reviewed the available literature and used our clinical experience to develop a progressive, 5-tiered classification of procedures, encompassing clean, aseptic, sterile-superficial, sterile-invasive, and surgical-like procedures to address this need. We provide a description of these categories, along with relevant examples. We fully acknowledge the limitations of our work, which is intended as a starting point for future efforts and not to be definitive.