A10- Infection control Flashcards

1
Q

What is the aseptic technique?

A

A set of practices that protects patients from healthcare-associated infections and protects healthcare workers from contact with blood, body fluid and body tissue. This includes using alcohol to sterilize the skin, to full surgical asepsis, which involves the use of sterile gowns, gloves, and masks.

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2
Q

What is the process of disease transmission?

A

• Infectious agent
• Reservoir
• Portal of exit
• Mode of transmission
• Portal of entry
• Susceptible host

These links need to be broken in order to prevent infection.

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3
Q

What is an infectious agent?

A

A microorganisms with the potential to make you ill.

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4
Q

What is a reservoir?

A

Where germs can live and grow.

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5
Q

What is a portal of exit?

A

How germs get out of an infected person.

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6
Q

What is a mode of transmission?

A

How germs spread to another person.

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7
Q

What is a portal of entry?

A

How germs make their way into a person.

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8
Q

What is a susceptible host?

A

A person at risk of infection.

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9
Q

What is cross infection?

A

When germs are transferred from one person to another.

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10
Q

How do you prevent cross infection?

A

• PPE to protect against splashes and wound contact.
• Clean environment.

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11
Q

What is C-diff?

A

‘Clostridium difficile’ is a type of bacteria that can cause inflammation of the colon, leading to diarrhoea.

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12
Q

How do you treat c-diff?

A

With antibiotics like metronidazole and vancomycin.

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13
Q

How is c-diff caused?

A

This is caused by the overuse of antibiotics, as they will disrupt the balance of gut bacteria, causing c-diff bacteria to grow. It is also spread through spores.

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14
Q

Who is most at risk of developing c-diff?

A

• Those who have recently taken antibiotics.
• Those who have recently been hospitalised.
• Older people.
• Those with a weakened immune system.

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15
Q

What are the routes of transmission?

A

• Contact
• Droplets
• Airborne
• Common vehicle
• Vector borne
• Food
• Water
• Fluids
• Vertical

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16
Q

What are some physical barriers to disease?

A

• Skin
• Cillia
• Mucus
• Enzymes

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17
Q

What can you do to prevent and control infection?

A

• Follow policy and SOPS like COSHH & RIDDOR.
• Maintain your knowledge and skill.
• Inform visitors of guidelines.
• Follow codes of practice.

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18
Q

What are the 3 ways to prevent cross infection?

A

• Sterilisation
• Disinfectant
• Decontamination

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19
Q

What is detergent?

A

A cleansing agent that increases waters ability to break down contaminants.

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20
Q

What is disinfectant?

A

A substance used to reduce blood he number of microorganisms in surfaces to a level that is considered safe, but which may not necessarily destroy some viruses or bacterial spores.

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21
Q

What does aseptic mean?

A

It means free from contamination of harmful microorganisms.

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22
Q

What are some diseases reportable under RIDDOR?

A

• smallpox
• measles
• plague
• typhoid
• anthrax
• diphtheria
• food poisoning
• scarlet fever
• tuberculosis
• viral hepatitis
• tetanus
• meningitis
• mumps
• whooping cough

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23
Q

What is decontamination?

A

A process or combination of processes like cleaning, disinfecting and sterilising that removes or destroys contaminants so that infectious agents can’t cause infection.

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24
Q

What are types of decontamination?

A

• Physical- Heat or radiation used to remove microorganisms (autoclave, boil and pasteurisation).

• Chemical- Use of chemicals to kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms (disinfectants and sterilants).

• Biological- Use of living organisms or their products to eliminate the growth of microorganisms (bacteriophages).

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25
Q

What is sterilisation?

A

To kill all microbes and their spores, whether harmful or not, present on a surface or object.

This is done using steam machines (autoclaves) which use 122°-134° steam.

Direct heat can be used like incineration, boiling in water and dry heat.

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26
Q

What are types of sterilisation?

A

Autoclaving medical instruments and devices.

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27
Q

What is pasteurisation?

A

Using heat treatment to kill or deactivate harmful microorganisms, this prevents transmission through food and drink.

28
Q

What is pasteurisation used on?

A

• Dairy products- Eliminates bacteria like mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis and ecoli.

• Juices- Fruit juices to destroy salmonella and ecoli.

• Liquid egg- Reduce risk of salmonella.

29
Q

What is ultra pasteurisation?

A

Heating a liquid at a high temperature for a short time.

30
Q

What is flash pasteurisation?

A

When a product is rapidly heated and then rapidly cooled.

31
Q

What are the most common hospital associated infections?

A

• UTI (Urinary Tract Infection)
• MSSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
• C-diff (Clostridium difficile)

32
Q

What is ultraviolet light?

A

Invisible light radiation that can that can kill or damage microorganisms. It can disinfect surfaces and the air.

33
Q

What is plasma decontamination?

A

Ionised gas used to decontaminate a surface or equipment.

34
Q

What is the aseptic technique?

A

A set of practices and techniques designed to prevent the introduction and spread of new infectious agents.

35
Q

What are the benefits of aseptic techniques?

A

• Reduces HAI’s
• Maintenance of facilities
• Continuous monitoring allows you to identify issues

36
Q

What is sanitation?

A

Maintaining a clean and safe environment through general cleanliness, waste management and hygiene.

37
Q

Why is good ventilation and air quality important?

A

It prevents the accumulation of airborne contaminants.

38
Q

How can you break the cycle of infection?

A

• Wear PPE
• Personal hygiene
• Vaccines
• Sanitise
• Pasturisation
• Waste disposal
• Food safety
• Education and training
• Isolation

39
Q

What is a purple waste bag for? 🟣

A

Cytotoxic and cytostatic waste.

40
Q

What is a yellow waste bad for? 🟡

A

Infectious clinical waste like fluids.

41
Q

What is a blue waste bag for? 🔵

A

Medical non-hazardous waste like denatured or unused drugs.

42
Q

What is an orange waste bag for? 🟠

A

Infectious clinical waste like PPE, bandages and swabs.

43
Q

What is a black waste bag for? ⚫️

A

General waste like tissues, food waste and packages.

44
Q

What is a red waste bag for? 🔴

A

non infectious anatomical waste like body parts and organs.

45
Q

What is a yellow with black stripes waste bag for? 🟡⚫️

A

Hygiene waste like nappies, sanitary products and colostomy bags.

46
Q

What is a transparent waste bag for? 🫧

A

Non infectious recyclable waste like paper, cardboard and packaging.

47
Q

What is a hard yellow bin for?

A

Sharps.

48
Q

What does the Health and Social Care Act say about infection control?

A

It provides legal framework on infection control as it aims to prevent infection from occurring and spreading.
It specifies the responsibility’s of professionals and the standards on cleanliness. It requires the implementation of control measures like regular cleaning, waste management and using the appropriate disinfectants.
It also states that you need an infection control lead.

49
Q

What is the antimicrobial stewardship programme?

A

It aims to ensure antimicrobial medications are used appropriately to minimise the development of drug sensitive infections.

50
Q

What are fomites?

A

Inanimate objects that can carry and spread disease and infectious agents.

51
Q

What are ways in which cross infection can occur?

A

• Coughing and sneezing
• Hygeine
• Hand washing
• Soiled linen
• Airborne
• Not changing clothes

52
Q

What are the ideal growth conditions for microorganisms?

A

• Temperature
• Humidity
• Nutrients
• Time

53
Q

What is infection?

A

The invasion of a hosts tissue by a pathogenic microorganism.

54
Q

What is colonisation?

A

The presence of bacteria on the body surface without causing disease in the person.

55
Q

What is microbial resistance?

A

This is when a pathogen becomes immune to the medications created to kill it.
This is because some bacteria have a resistance gene due to mutations when dividing. Bacteria’s then swap genes, resulting in the spreading of this gene as the bacteria with the gene then multiply.

56
Q

What is sodium hypochlorite?

A

Bleach.

57
Q

What is an antimicrobial?

A

An agent that kills microorganisms by stopping them from multiplying by inhibiting and destroying them.

58
Q

What do you do if microbial resistance makes antibiotics ineffective?

A

Use anti fungal or antiviral medications. You can also adjust the dosage or give a combination of antibiotics to overcome the resistance.

59
Q

What can you do to overcome microbial resistance?

A

• Take antibiotics as prescribed.
• Only use antibiotics when necessary.
• Recover naturally through vitamins, water

60
Q

What is MRSA?

A

‘Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus’ is a skin bacteria that is resistant to commonly prescribed antibiotics.

61
Q

How do you detect MRSA?

A

Via broth based and agar based tests.

62
Q

How would you treat MRSA?

A

• Antibacterial cream inside of the nose 3 times a day for 5 days.
• Wash with antibacterial shampoo everyday for 5 days.
• Change your towel, clothing, bedding everyday if your treatment.
• Wash at a high temperature

63
Q

How to antibiotics work?

A

They kill the bacteria or prevent it from spreading by blocking vital processes of the bacteria. It will destroy the cell wall, making it harder for the bacteria to generate energy from glucose.

64
Q

What are the effects of antibiotic resistance on the NHS?

A

• Bed management.
• Longer admissions.
• Routine procedures are more dangerous.
• Higher death rates.

65
Q

What are superbugs?

A

Antibiotic resistance has led to ‘superbugs’, these being strains of bacteria which are resistant to antibiotics.

66
Q

Define cleaning.

A

Reducing the presence of microorganisms on surfaces and instruments by removing physical foreign matter. This minimises the risk of transferring microorganisms.