Medical Asepsis Flashcards
Infection control
- Provides measures that reduce or eliminate sources and transmission of disease
- Protects patients & healthcare providers from disease
HAIs
Health care-associated infections are acquired in health care settings
Asepsis
the absence of pathogenic (disease-producing) microorganisms
Medical Asepsis (clean technique)
- reduces organisms
- prevents transfer
Surgical Asepsis (sterile technique)
-destroys microorganisms and their spores
Patients in isolation
- watch for signs of loneliness
- explain purpose for isolation to patient and family members
- practice cultural awareness
Hand hygiene includes:
- handwashing
- antiseptic hand wash
- antiseptic hand rub
- surgical hand asepsis
Hand hygiene based on:
- degree of contact
- amount of contamination
- susceptibility to infection
- procedure/activity to be performed
Caring for patients under isolation precautions
- use procedures to reduce cross-contamination to other patients
- use standard precautions
- all bodies substances contain potentially infectious organisms
- use recommended isolation precautions
When to wash hands:
- when hands are visibly soiled
- if exposed to spore–forming organisms
When to use alcohol-based hand rub:
- if hands are NOT visibly soiled
- used in many clinical situations
Standard precautions (Tier 1)
- used for all patients, regardless of risk or presumed infection status
- applies to blood, blood products, body fluids, secretions, excretion (except sweat), nonintact skin, and fucus membranes
Transmission-based precautions (Tier 2)
-use for care of patients who are known or suspected to be infected with microorganisms transmitted by contact, droplet, or airborne route
Common causes of HAIs
-Multidrug–resistant organisms
MRSA
-increased mortality
