Current status of control and prevention of infections relating to traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment in secondary and above TCM medical institutions of Henan Prince

OBJECTIVE To investigate the risks for infections relating to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diagnosis and treatment techniques in TCM medical institutions of Henan Province so as to give proposals for improvement of control and prevention measures for the infections. METHODS A survey was conducted for the status of TCM medical techniques and infection control measures that were taken 135 secondary and above hospitals in Henan Province by self-designed questionnaires from Dec. 10, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2024. RESULTS Among the 135 hospitals, acupuncture therapy was conducted in 100.00% of the hospitals, the filiform needle were the most commonly used type of needle, accounting for 82.22%; the minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment was carried out in 60.74% of the hospitals, the needle knife (67.07%) and acupoint embedding (48.78%) were most commonly used; the moxibustion therapy was carried out in 96.30% of the hospitals, and the barrier moxibustion (90.00%) was widely used; the cupping therapy was conducted in 92.59% of the hospitals; the scraping therapy was carried out in 88.15% of the hospitals, with cow horns (60.50%) and needle stones (56.30%) dominant among the instruments. There were 113 hospitals where the therapeutic projects of compress, ironing, fumigating and bathing were carried out, and acupoint compress (80.53%) and traditional Chinese medicine fumigation (74.34%) were used most frequently; the hospitals where the massage and enema were carried out accounted for 91.11% and 71.11%, respectively. The hospitals that were capable of standardized implementation of "Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Traditional Chinese Medicine Medical Technology Related Infections" accounted for more than 60%, and there were some hospitals with behaviors contradicting the guidelines, like the unqualified environment for diagnosis and treatment, unreasonable use and disposal of instruments as well as poor occupational protection. There were no significant differences between the grades of hospitals and the control and prevention measures for diagnosis and treatment. CONCLUSIONS There are some links at risk of infections during the process of TCM diagnosis and treatment in secondary and above TCM medical institutions of Henan Province. The tertiary hospitals are superior to the secondary hospitals in allocation of independent minimally invasive treatment rooms, cleaning and disinfection rooms of instruments and hand hygiene facilities. The capability of control and prevention of infections relating to TCM diagnosis and treatment procedures needs to be further improved.