Hospital Infection Control Flashcards
Four contact precautions
Private room
Use of hand hygiene
Gloves and gowns must be donned prior to entry into patient room
Used to prevent spread of multi-drug-resistant organisms
- VRE, MRSA, MDR Acinetobacter, etc.
- Most GI tract pathogens (C. difficile)
How long can Acinectobacter, C. difficile, E. coli, Enterococcus sp., Pseudomonas, and S. aureus survive on surfaces?
Acinectobacter 3 days – 5 months C. difficile 5 months E. coli 1.5 hrs – 16 months Enterococcus sp. 5 days - 4 months Pseudomonas 6 hrs – 16 months S. aureus 7 days – 7 months
What intervention has been shown to markedly reduce transmission of C. difficile in the hospital setting?
Glove use
What are droplet precautions?
Private room and a mask must be used before entering the room in addition to hand hygiene.
Isolation of patients infected with organisms that can be transmitted via droplets that can be generated by the patient during coughing, sneezing, talking, or during procedures.
Used for Influenza, RSV, Neisseria meningitides.
What are airborne precautions?
Isolation of patients with organisms that are spread via airborne droplet nuclei 6-12 air changes per hour under negative pressure.
A N-95 mask must be worn by all persons entering the room in addition to standard precautions.
Used for M. tuberculosis, measles, and primary infection with Varicella zoster virus.
What are the 11 steps of an outbreak investigation?
- Prepare for the investigation
- Confirm the existence of an outbreak
- Establish or verify diagnosis of the reported cases
- Search for additional cases; collect critical data; develop a line listing; collect specimens as indicated
- Characterize cases of disease by person, place, and time
- Take immediate control measures, if indicated
- Formulate tentative hypothesis to explain the observations
- Test hypothesis
- Plan an additional systematic study
- Implement and evaluate control and preventative measures
- Communicate findings
