Assessment of infection Flashcards
What are different ways an infection can spread?
1.Droplets (mucous droplet – influenza, pneumonia)
2. Airborne (dust in air – TB, measles)
3. Aerosol (droplet in water in air, TB, legionnaires disease)
4.Water transmission (contaminated water mucosa or broken skin, - leptospirosis)
5. Contact transmission (person to person contact through touch, STD and kissing – Sepatitis A, HIV)
6. Soil (through skin lesion – tetanus)
7. Inoculation (stractches and poor Healthcare – rabies, HIV)
8. Faecal-oral (hygiene or food/drink – gastro-enteritis)
9. Contaminated intermediated (contaminated inanimate objected from host to new host – chicken pox and tetanus)
What are signs and symptoms that may suggest an infection?
- Temperature (pyrexia)
- Tiredness
- Redness areas of sites
- Cough/ cold systems
- Swollen.
- Confusion
- Pus
- Diarrhoea
- Vomiting
- Tachycardia
What tests should you use to investigate infection?
- Resp rate
- Depth and rhythm of breathing
- Oxygen Sats
- Heart rate
- Blood pressure
- CGS/AVPU
- Temperature
- Urine output
- Sputum sample
Using A-E assessment tool what signs and symptoms of A and B would you look for in chest infection?
- Respiratory rate – increased (airways swollen and lower volume capacity and low circulating O2)
- Depth and rhythm of breathing – shallow, short and uneven (irregular) breathing (increased work of breathing and excessive use of accessory organs)
- Effect on SPo2 – lower saturation (lower than 92% worry – less gaseous exchange as some alveoli filled with pus and fluid)
IN the A-E assessment tool what would you look for in C for a chest infection?
- Heart rate – increased (panic and anxiety can also be a factor – at end of life the heart rate will decrease)
- Blood pressure – decreased due to blood volume (fluid leak out capillaries so lowers BP, also it vasodilates to reduce blood pressure)
Using the A-E assessment tool what would you look for in D for a chest infection?
- GCS/AVPU? – Could become confused if hypoxic
Using the A-E assessment tool what would you investigate for D in a chest infection?
- Temperature – high (pyrexia) (extreme worry over 40 degrees) (as the body is making itself inhospitable for the pathogen, also metabolic activity increased to kill bacteria due to immune response) – a low temperature may follow due to exhaustion as body is not able to compensate anymore
- Urine output – decreased (retention – kidney aren’t as effective due to electrolytes being less present and less effective also common to not eat or drink as much so likely dehydrated)
What is peritonitis?
- infection
-Inflammation of peritanium (bowel area)
– caused spontaneously or secondary due to surgery or adhesions
What would do for AB in A-E assessment tool for peritonitis?
- Resp rate – increased (due to discomfort or distended bowl can restrict lungs so reducing vital capacity)
- Depth and rhythm of breathing – Shallow breaths but even (lungs pushed up so can’t use diaphragm as easily so not deep breaths)
- Oxygen stats – reduced (is odemetus this may not be a true reading)
What would be in the C section of the A-E assessment tool fo peritonitis?
Circulation
1. Heart rate – vasodilation and dehydration so hypotensive –
2. Blood pressure – reduced BP due to leakage and vasodilation
What would be in the D section of the A-E assessment tool for peritonitis?
GCS/AVPU
What would be in the E section of A-E assessment for peritonitis?
Environment
1. Temperature - increased
Urine output - Abnormal and reduced
What is sepsis?
INfection
-Due to overreaction of immune response in infection that causes sepsis it means there is a influx of cytokines release
What are the symptoms of sepsis?
- Temperature
- Infection
- Mental decline
- Extremely ill
What would you look out for in assessment of sepsis?
- Inflammation – high white blood cell count – immature WBC – elevated plasma C-reactive protein
- Hemodynamic – low BP – low central venous saturation – high cardiac index
- Organ dysfunction – low oxygen, low urine, high creatinine, coagulation abnormalities, absent bowl sounds, low platelets, high bilirubin levels
- Tissue perfusion – high lactate blood, decreased capillary filling or mottling
