Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
30 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Define HAIs and Nosocomial infections
|
o Healthcare-associated infections (HAI)
o Infections associated with healthcare given in any setting like hospitals, home care, long-term care and ambulatory settings |
|
|
Describe the nurses role in preventing the spread of infection
|
o Medical Asepsis
• “A state of cleanliness that decreases the potential for the spread of infections” • Promoted through • Maintaining a clean environment • Maintaining clean hands • Following Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines o Using correct precautions according to the situation |
|
|
Describe the role of the CDC and OSHA in the control and prevention of infection in healthcare settings
|
o CDC
• They have an extensive web site devoted to infection control and prevention in health care setting. They issues infection control guidelines o OSHA • Enforcement – making sure OSHA Regulations are followed • Assistance – outreach & training to employers and employees • Cooperation – partnerships and alliances through voluntary programs |
|
|
Describe the impact of QSEN on nursing competencies related to safety in the healthcare setting
|
o This is a group of educators that was formed to address the challenge of preparing nurses with the competencies necessary to improve the quality and safety of their places of work- competencies that you should have on completing your nursing education.
o The make several broad statements regarding knowledge, skills, and attitudes about safety that also apply to infection |
|
|
Infectious Agent
|
• Pathogens
• Normal flora that become pathogenic |
|
|
Reservoir
|
• Where pathogens live and multiply
• Can be living or nonliving like umans, animals, insects, food, floors, equipment, and contaminated water |
|
|
Portal of Exit
|
• A way that infectious agents can exit the body
• Examples bodily fluids, coughing, sneezing, diarrhea, seeping wounds, tubes, IV lines |
|
|
Mode of Transmission
|
• Through Contact: Direct (touching, kissing, sexual contact) or Indirect (contact with a fomite)
• In droplets with a cough or sneeze and Airborne in air conditioning or sweeping |
|
|
Portal of Entry
|
• A way pathogens can the body
• Eye, nares, mouth, vagina, cuts, scrapes, wounds, surgical sites, IV or drainage tube sites, bite from a vector |
|
|
Susceptible Host
|
• Person with inadequate defense
• Four determining factors: virulence, organism’s ability to survive in the host’s environment, number of organisms, host’s defenses |
|
|
List the predictable stages of the infection process
|
o Incubation: from time of infection until manifestation of symptoms; can infect others
o Prodromal: appearance of vague symptoms; not all diseases have this stage o Illness: signs and symptoms present o Decline: number of pathogens decline o Convalescence: tissue repair, return to health |
|
|
Primary Defenses
|
• Anatomical features, limit pathogen entry
• Intact skin • Mucous membranes • Tears • Normal flora in GI tract • Normal flora in urinary tract |
|
|
Secondary Defenses
|
• Biochemical processes activated by chemicals released by pathogens
• Phagocytosis • Complement cascade • Inflammation • Fever |
|
|
Tertiary Defenses
|
• Humoral immunity
• B-cell production of antibodies in response to an antigen • Cell-mediated immunity • Direct destruction of infected cells by T cells |
|
|
Define “multidrug- resistant organisms” (MDROs)
|
o Microorganisms, mostly bacteria, that have mutated to develop resistance to one ore more classes of antimicrobial drugs
|
|
|
Describe health risks associated with MDROs
|
o Options for treating MDRO infections are limited, they are associated with serious illness, increased mortality, and increased hospital lengths of stay and costs
|
|
|
Identify precautions used to prevent the spread of MDROs
|
o MDROs are transmitted by the same routes as other microorganisms, a major factor is transmission in healthcare settings via hands of healthcare workers, especially MRSA, Clostridium difficile, and vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE).
|
|
|
Describe health promotion activities to strengthen a person’s defenses against harmful pathogens
|
o Nutrition
o Hygiene o Rest/Sleep o Exercise/Activity o Stress Reduction o Immunizations |
|
|
Identify effective hand-washing technique
|
o Wash for at least 15 seconds in nonsurgical setting; 2–6 minutes in surgical setting
o Remove jewelry and clean beneath fingernails o Use a bactericidal solution or use water if hands are visibly soiled o Use warm water, not hot o Apply soap to wet hands o Use friction o Rinse soap o Towel or hand dry |
|
|
Describe effective use of alcohol-based cleansers
|
o For routine hand cleansing
o NOT for soiled or contact with bacterial spores Faster than hand washing but acceptable |
|
|
Describe “Standard Precautions”
|
o Use with all clients, in all settings, regardless of infection
o Principle: All blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions except sweat, non-intact skin, and mucous membranes may contain pathogens o Include: Hand hygiene, use of gloves, gown, mask, eye protection, or face shield: and safe injection practices o Does not completely protect against microorganisms spread by contact, droplets, or through the air |
|
|
Identify the various PPE and when to use them
|
o Gloves – protect hands
o Gowns/aprons – protect skin and/or clothing o Masks and respirators– protect mouth/nose o Respirators – protect respiratory tract from airborne infectious agents o Goggles – protect eyes o Face shields – protect face, mouth, nose, and eyes • All of the PPE listed here prevent contact with the infectious agent, or body fluid that may contain the infectious agent, by creating a barrier between the worker and the infectious material. Gloves, protect the hands, gowns or aprons protect the skin and/or clothing, masks and respirators protect the mouth and nose, goggles protect the eyes, and face shields protect the entire face. o The respirator has been designed to also protect the respiratory tract from airborne transmission of infectious agents. |
|
|
Explain “Transmission-based precautions” and what they indicate about the patient’s condition
|
o Used for patients known or suspected to be infected pr colonized with infectious agents
|
|
|
Contact precautions:
|
for organisms spread by direct contact with the patient or his environment. Most common form of transmission.
|
|
|
Droplet precautions:
|
for pathogens spread through close respiratory or mucous membrane contact with respiratory secretions pathogens that do not remain infectious over long distances (sneezing, coughing, talking)
|
|
|
Airborne precautions:
|
for pathogens that are very small and remain infectious over ling distances when suspended in the air; and easily transmitted though air currents (fanning linens, ventilating systems)
|
|
|
Medical Asepsis
|
“A state of cleanliness that decreases the potential for the spread of infections”
Promoted through Maintaining a clean environment Maintaining clean hands Following Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines |
|
|
Surgical Asepsis
|
Creation of a sterile environment
Use of sterile equipment/supplies Sterilization of reusable supplies Surgical hand scrub Surgical attire Sterile gloves Sterile field Use of sterile technique |
|
|
Describe the guidelines for maintaining a sterile field
|
o Sterile to sterile only
o Only horizontal plane is considered sterile o Nothing in contact with contaminated surfaces |
|
|
Demonstrate techniques in donning sterile gloves
|
o Remove all jewelry, including rings and watches
o Place glove package on a clean, dry surface o Open the inner package so that the cuffs are closest to you o Apply the glove of your dominant hand first by touching only the inside of the glove with your non-dominant hand o Apply the second glove by touching only the outer part of the glove with your already-gloved hand; keep your sterile thumb away from your bare skin |
