Homeostasis/Regulation: Infection Flashcards
Some micro organisms are normal resident flora in one part of the body but…
Produce infection in another part
Escherichia Coli
Normal inhabitant of large intestine but it common cause of the infection in urinary tract
Infection
Invasion of body system by an organism with the potential to cause illness or disease
Asymptomatic or subclinical
Micro organisms that produce no clinical evidence of disease
Disease
Micro organisms that produce detectable alteration in normal tissue function
Communicable disease
Illness directly transmitted from one individual or animal to another by contact with body fluids or indirectly transmitted by contact with contaminated objects, airborne particles or vectors
Vectors
Ticks, mosquitoes other insects or etc.
Infectious disease
Any communicable disease that is caused by microorganisms that are commonly transmitted from one individual or animal to another
Major cause of death in infants and children in the United States
Infectious disease and communicable diseases
Infection control is…
Central to delivering high-quality nursing care
subclinical diseases
Micro organisms that produce no clinical evidence of disease
some can cause considerable damage
WHO
World Health Organization
-major regulatory agency at international level
CDC
Centers for Disease Control
-principal public health agency concerned w/ disease prevention and control at national level
Microorganisms vary by pathogenicity..
- true pathogen
2. opportunistic pathogen
pathogenicity
ability to produce disease
pathogen
microorganisms that cause disease
true pathogen
causes disease in a healthy individual
opportunistic pathogen
causes disease only in susceptible individuals
Microorganisms also vary by virulence..
severity of the diseases they produce and in their degree of communicability
Asepsis
absence of disease-causing microorganisms
Aseptic technique
decreases possibility of transferring microorganisms from one place to another
Two basic types of asepsis
medical
surgical
Medical Asepsis
decreases # of microorganisms
uses clean technique
Includes all practices intended to confine a specific microorganism to a specific area
-limiting the number, growth, and transmission
“clean”
almost all microorganisms are absent
“dirty”
soiled, contaminated
-Microorganisms are likely to be present, some capable of causing infection
Surgical Asepsis
aka sterile technique
- Refers to practices that keep an area or object free of all microorganisms
- Includes practices that destroy all microorganisms and spores
- special cleaning and packaging
Spores
Microscopic dormant structures formed by some pathogens that are very hardy often survive common cleaning techniques
Sepsis
whole body inflammatory process resulting in an acute illness
-also used generally to refer to state of infection
4 Major Types of Microorganisms/Infections
Bacteria
Viruses
Fungi
Parasites
Bacteria
most common infection-causing microorganisms
Viruses
consists primarily of nucleic acid and therefore must enter living cells to reproduce
Fungi
yeasts and molds
Candida albicans
yeast considered normal flora in human vagina
Parasites
live on other organisms
-protozoa (malaria, worms, anthropods)
Anthropods
ticks, mites, fleas
colonization
process by which strains of microorganisms become resident flora
In the colonization, microorganisms…
grow and multiply but do not cause disease
Infection occurs when…
newly introduced or resident microorganisms succeed in invading a part of a body where the host’s defense mechanisms are ineffective and pathogen causes tissue damage
Infection becomes disease when…
When signs and symptoms of the infection are unique, can be differentiated from other conditions, and alter bodily function or processes
Infections can be..
local or systemic
Local infection
limited to a specific part of the body where the microorganisms remain
Systemic infection
microorganisms spread and damage different parts of the body
bacteremia
condition when a culture of the individual blood reveals bacteria
Septicemia
When the bacteremia results in systemic infection
-these have become more common recently
Acute Infections
appears suddenly and last a short time
Chronic infections
develop slowly over a long period of time and often persists for months and sometimes years
Chain of Infection
Etiological agent or microorganism
Reservoir
Portal of exit from Reservoir
Transmission
Portal of entry to susceptible host
Susceptible host
Etiological agent
aka microorganism
Reservoir
sources of microorganisms
common sources of microorganisms
other humans client's own microorganisms plants animals general environment
Carrier
human or animal reservoir of the microorganism that may or may not show signs/symptoms
Portal of exit from reservoir
before infection can establish itself in a host, it must leave the reservoir
Method of Transmission
after it leaves the reservoir, it requires transmission to reach another receptive portal of entry
3 Modes of transmission
direct
indirect
airborne
Homeostasis
aka regulation
-dynamic processes involved in the maintenance of body functioning
direct transmission
involves immediate and direct transfer of microorganisms from one person to another through touching, kissing, biting, or sex.
-droplet spread: sneezing, coughing, spitting, singing, or talking
indirect transmission
vehicle or vector-borne
vehicle-borne transmission
indirect
any substance that serves as an intermediate means to transport and introduce an infectious agent into a host through portal of entry.
fomites, handkerchiefs, toys, spoiled clothes
vector-borne transmission
animal or flying or crawling insect that serves as transport of infectious agent to host
airborne transmission
involves droplets and dust
droplet nuclei
residue of evaporated droplets emitted by an infected host, such as individual with tuberculosis, can remain in the air for a long period of time
compromised host
person at increased risk and who is more likely to acquire an infection
-cancer patients, HIV patients
Stages of Infectious Process
Incubation period
Prodromal Stage
Illness Stage
Convalescent Stage
Incubation period
- active replication
- no symptoms
- could be hours or years
Prodromal Stage
- symptoms begin
- usually general and nonspecific (fever, fatigue, headache)
Illness Stage
- max impact of infectious process
- pathogen proliferates and disseminates rapidly
- tachycardic and tachypneic
- local manifestations
Convalescent Stage
- infection contained
- pathogen eliminated
- affected tissues repaired
- manifestations resolve
- total elimination of the pathogen from the body without residual manifestations
carrier state
host defenses eliminate the infectious disease, but the organism continues to multiply on mucosal sites
Isolation
measures designed to prevent the spread of infection or potentially infectious microorganisms to health personnel, clients, and visitors
UP
universal precautions
- techniques used with all clients to decrease risk of transmitting unidentifiable pathogens
- obstruct the spread of bloodborne pathogens
Category-specific isolation precautions
SEVEN CATEGORIES
- strict isolation
- contact isolation
- respiratory isolation
- TB isolation
- enteric precautions
- drainage/secretions precautions
- blood/body fluids precautions
Disease-specific isolation precautions
provide precautions to protect against a specific disease
Contact precautions
patients known to have or suspected of having serious illnesses that are easily transmitted by direct contact or contact with items in patients environment
droplet precautions
serious illnesses that are easily transmitted by particle droplets larger than 5 microns.
airborne precautions
serious illnesses that are easily transmitted by airborne droplet nuclei smaller then 5 microns
compromised host precautions
patients that are compromised. Used to protect them from us.
Handwashing
1 way to prevent the spread of infection
When do you handwash
beg and end of shift before and after contact with patient between contact with different patients before invasive procedures after removing gloves before and after contact with wounds, dressing, specimens, and linens before admin of meds before and after blowing nose and using restroom
Risk factors
age virulence & resistance lowered body defenses chronic diseases medications immunizations modifiable risk factors pregnancy cultural beliefs psycholsocial beliefs
HAIs
Hospital Acquired Infections
aka Nosocomial Infections
- Skin infections
- UTI
- pneumonia
- C-Difficile
Drug Resistance
Antibiotic resistance
- MRSA
- MDR-Pseudomonas
- VRE
- C-Diff
- ESBL
- MDR-Salmonella
When is surgical asepsis used
- OR
- L&D
- bedside
- procedure w/ intentional skin perforation
- skin integrity broken due to trauma, burns, incisions
- insertion of cath or instruments onto sterile body cavities
Sterile Technique
sterile instruments, gowns, field, gloves, etc
Signs of localized infection
fever in location odor heat pain pus redness swelling
Modifiable risk factors
- hygiene
- nutrition
- fluid
- sleep
- stress
Signs of systemic infection
aches chills fever nausea vomiting weakness
Diagnostic tests used for infections
- WBC count
- WBC differential
- ESR
- Cultures
- CSF/lumbar puncture
- Xray
- Peak & Trough levels
serological testing
provides an indirect means of identifying infecting agents by detecting antibodies to the suspected organism
Peak and trough
monitor therapeutic blood levels of the prescribed medications.
The minimum and max blood levels at which drug is effective is monitored
Newborns and older adults have…
reduced defenses against infection
Infections are a major cause of death for?
newborns because they have immature immune systems and are protected only for the first 2 or 3 months by immunoglobulins passively received from the mother
Infants begin to synthesize their own immunoglobulins…
between 1 and 3 months
