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Isolation precautions, looked up.

Search any organism, virus, or condition — get the CDC-recommended precaution type, PPE, room placement, and duration. Pulls from the CDC Guideline for Isolation Precautions and current category-A/B/C recommendations.

Standard Contact Droplet Airborne Enhanced/Special Neutropenic (protective)
What do these precaution types mean?
Standard

Used for every patient, every time. Assume any blood or body fluid may be infectious — hand hygiene plus PPE matched to the exposure you expect.

Contact

Spreads by touching the patient or contaminated surfaces and equipment. Gown + gloves on entry; dedicate equipment to the room.

Droplet

Large respiratory droplets that travel only a few feet and fall quickly. Surgical mask within 6 ft — no special air handling needed.

Airborne

Tiny droplet nuclei that stay suspended and ride air currents far from the patient. Negative-pressure AIIR + fit-tested N95/PAPR, door closed.

Enhanced/Special

High-consequence pathogens needing layered precautions, trained donning/doffing, and public-health coordination.

Neutropenic

Protects the patient, not staff. Keep the environment clean; positive-pressure/HEPA room for high-risk transplant patients.

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Defer to your facility's infection prevention team. Some institutions apply enhanced precautions (e.g., contact + airborne for novel pathogens, or extended duration for specific patient populations) beyond CDC minimums. This tool reflects CDC baseline guidance — your hospital's policy may be stricter.

Sources

Each card lists the specific authority its recommendation traces to. Values were verified against the live CDC Appendix A table in June 2026.

  • CDC Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings (2007, with subsequent updates). Siegel JD, Rhinehart E, Jackson M, Chiarello L; Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC). — The authoritative US baseline.
  • CDC Appendix A — Type and Duration of Precautions Recommended for Selected Infections and Conditions: cdc.gov/infection-control · Appendix A — the per-pathogen lookup behind this tool.
  • CDC Management of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in Healthcare Settings (2006) and organism-specific CDC/SHEA/IDSA guidance for C. difficile, MRSA, VRE, CRE, and C. auris.
  • CDC pathogen-specific interim guidance for SARS-CoV-2, mpox, measles, varicella, and viral hemorrhagic fevers (used where it supersedes Appendix A).
  • CDC Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities (2003) and HSCT guidelines — basis for the Protective Environment / neutropenic card.
  • CDC Pediatric Modifications: Standard precautions plus Contact for diapered/incontinent patients with enteric pathogens.

This tool is educational only and reflects baseline CDC guidance. Some institutions apply stricter precautions — always follow your facility's infection prevention policy.