Asepsis and Infection Control Flashcards
Who is Hippocrates?
Father of western medicine
- First attempt preventing infection, simple treatments then strong drugs then surgery
Who is Lister?
Discovered antiseptic used to disinfect surgical equipment/supplies
- Chemical antiseptic controlling surgery related infection
Who is Holmes?
Showed diseases can be spread via HCP
Who is Semmelweis?
Washed hands (communicable)
Types of MOs?
Bacteria, virus, parasite, fungi
What is the disease process?
- MOs find host
- Grows in a specific environment (temperature, pH, moisture
- Causes damage to the body via
- Depleting nutrients
- Reproducing themselves
- Makes body cells the target of their own dfenses
- Produces toxins
Types of infection?
Local vs. System
Acute vs. Chronic
Local infection?
Limited to the specific part of the body where the MOs remain
System infection?
MOs spread and damage different parts of the body
Acute infection?
Generally appearing suddenly and lasting for a short amount of time
Chronic infection?
May occur slowly over a long period of time, can last months/years
Stages of infection?
- Incubation- Pathogen to the appearance of first s/s
- Prodromal stage- Early s/s of a disease, vague and non specific
- Full stage illness- Presence of s/s
- Convalescent period- Recovery for the infection’s s/s to disappear
What is at risk for infection?
Immunocompromised, exposure, and invasive procedures
Immunocompromised definition?
Low resistance to infectious MOs
Exposure definition?
Increased number of disease causing organisms and types of disease causing organisms
Invasive procedures definition?
Going into the body past normal body boundaries
What are the three ways of infection control?
Sanitization, disinfection, sterilization
What is sanitzation?
Reduces microbial population, medical asepsis (washing hands)
What is disinfection?
Destruction of most infectious agents of an object, medical asepsis (Lysol)
What is sterilization?
Removal of all MOs and spores, removing killing and deactivating, surgical asepsis
Infection definition?
Invasion of body tissue by MOs and their growth
Infectious agent definition?
MOs invade the body and cause infection
Asymptomatic definition?
MO produces no clinical evidence of disease
Disease definition?
Detectable alteration in normal tissue function
Communicable definition?
Infectious agent can be transmitted to an individual by (in)direct contact/airborne infection
Pathogenicity definition?
Virulence- ability to produce disease, spread
Pathogen definition?
MO that causes disease
- Varies in virulence
- Varies in disease severity and communicability degree
Asepsis definition?
Freedom from disease causing MOs (minimize)
Medical asepsis definition?
Includes all practices intended to restrict a specific MO to a specific area
- Considered clean/dirty
- Limits number and growth transmission
Surgical asepsis definition?
‘Sterile technique’ refers to practices that keep an area/object free of MOs
- Practices destroying MOs and spores
- Used for all procedures with sterile areas of body
Sepsis definition?
Infection, disease causing MOs
What are droplet precautions?
Surgical mask within 3ft of patient with patient in a private room
- If not available, they can’t be placed in the same room with another patient of the same infection
- Distance between individuals infected/not infected= 3ft
