1-Infection Control Protocols Flashcards
Routine precautions are used whenever there is no physical contact and the client is >1m away. Describe these precautions.
- Hand washing
2. Respiratory etiquette (cover mouth/nose when coughing/sneezing, followed by hand washing)
What contact precautions would you use when you or the client has non-intact skin and physical contact occurs as part of care?
- Hand washing
- Gloves
- Proper removal and disposal of gloves followed by hand washing
Name 3 examples of when droplet precautions would be used (i.e. hand washing, respiratory etiquette, and possibly PPE such as gloves, surgical mask, eye protection)?
- Contact c/ client, procedure involving body fluids, splashing.
- Close contact c/ client experiencing respiratory symptoms.
- Close contact c/ client experiencing fever and respiratory symptoms.
Proper ventilation and droplet precautions with fit-tested mask applies to which infection control strategy?
Airborne Precautions: contact c/ client experiencing known airborne infection (e.g. active TB).
What are the 3 levels of reprocessing?
- Cleaning
- Disinfection
- Sterilization
The ____ ______ is used to determine the proper level of reprocessing for clinical equipment.
Spaulding Classification
What is the difference between high and low level disinfection?
High Level Disinfection (HLD) is used when processing semi critical medical equipment (such as impedance probe tips or curettes); HLD kills everything that LLD kills, as well as non-enveloped (non-lipid) viruses and mycobacteria, but NOT necessarily bacterial spores.
What must be done prior to disinfection?
Equipment/devices must be thoroughly cleaned.
Which level of processing is generally not applicable to audiology practice?
Cleaning followed by sterilization
What is the definition of “non-critical equipment”? Give a few examples.
Items that contact intact skin only or do not touch the client.
- insert earphones (apart from foam tip)
- bone conduction oscillator
- patient response button
- listening stethoscope
What is the proper way to process non-critical equipment?
Cleaning followed by low-level disinfection (such as quaternary ammonium compounds, 3% hydrogen peroxide, and diluted bleach (1:1000).
When should non-critical equipment be cleaned and disinfected?
Between clients.
Define “semi-critical” equipment.
Items that come in contact with non-intact skin or mucous membranes, but do not penetrate them.
Items that contact cerumen (potential contamination c/ blood/body fluids).
What is the minimum level of processing required for semi-critical equipment? What level is preferred?
Minimum: Cleaning followed by HLD.
Preferred: Sterilization or disposable/single use.
How is cleaning different from sterilization?
Cleaning is the physical removal of foreign material using water, detergents, and mechanical action, and must be done prior to decontamination, disinfection and/or sterilization.
Sterilization is the destruction of all forms of microbial life, and is used for critical medical equipment/devices.
