All invasive procedures, including surgery, catheter insertion, and administration of parenteral therapy, require sterile technique to maintain a sterile environment. All equipment must be sterile, and the nurse and the physician must wear sterile gloves and maintain surgical asepsis. In the operating room, the nurse and physician are required to wear sterile gowns, gloves, masks, hair covers, and shoe covers for all invasive procedures. Strict isolation requires the use of clean gloves, masks, gowns and equipment to prevent the transmission of highly communicable diseases by contact or by airborne routes. Terminal disinfection is the disinfection of all contaminated supplies and equipment after a patient has been discharged to prepare them for reuse by another patient. The purpose of protective (reverse) isolation is to prevent a person with seriously impaired resistance from coming into contact who potentially pathogenic organisms.
