Infection Control, Documentation and Informatics: Week 3 Flashcards
Coughing etiquette
Covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing– teaching staff, patients, and families through posters and written material is crucial
Communicable Disease
Any kind of infectious disease that can be transmitted directly from one person to another
Colonization
The presence and growth of microorganisms within a host but without tissue invasion or damage
Hand Hygiene
General term that applies to four techniques: handwashing, antiseptic hand wash, antiseptic hand rub, or surgical hand antisepsis
For the purpose of this course– we will focus on hand washing
Healthcare-associated infection
Infections resulting from the delivery of health services in a health care agency, most common in hospitals and long-term care facilities.
Iatrogenic infections
Type of healthcare-associated infection caused by invasive diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
Immunocompromised
Person with an impaired immune system– puts them at a higher likelihood for all types of infections
Multidrug-resistant organism
Type of healthcare associated infection, usually as a result of invasive procedures, antibiotic administration. These types of infections are resistant to multiple types of antibiotics.
Reservoir
Place where microorganisms survive, multiply, and await transfer to a susceptible host
Pathogens
Microorganisms capable of producing disease
Standard Precautions
Designed to be used for the care of all patients, in all settings, regardless of risk or presumed infection status. Standard Precautions are the primary strategies (including barrier precautions) for prevention of infection transmission and apply to contact with blood, body fluids, nonintact skin, mucous membranes, and equipment or surfaces contaminated with potentially infectious materials.
Transmissions Based Precautions
Precautions based on the mode of transmission of a disease
Airborne Precautions
Focus on diseases that are transmitted by smaller droplets, which remain in the air for longer periods of time. Airborne Precautions require a specially equipped room with a negative airflow referred to as an airborne infection isolation room. Air is not returned to the inside ventilation system but is filtered through a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter and exhausted directly to the outside. For example, all health care personnel wear an N95 respirator every time they enter the room of a patient with TB.
Droplet Precautions
Focus on diseases that are transmitted by large droplets (greater than 5 microns) expelled into the air and by being within 3 feet of a patient. Droplet Precautions require the wearing of a surgical mask when within 3 feet of the patient, proper hand hygiene, and some dedicated-care equipment. An example is a patient with influenza.
Contact Precautions
Used for direct and indirect contact with patients and their environment. Direct contact refers to the care and handling of contaminated body fluids. Contact Precautions require a gown and gloves. An example includes blood or other body fluids from an infected patient that enter the health care worker’s body through direct contact with compromised skin or mucous membranes. Indirect contact involves the transfer of an infectious agent through a contaminated intermediate object such as contaminated instruments or hands of health care workers. The health care worker may transmit microorganisms from one patient site to another if hand hygiene is not performed between patients