Principles of Surgical Asepsis Flashcards
What is antisepsis?
Antisepsis – Destruction of most microorganisms on animate (living) objects
• Antiseptics are used to kill most microorganisms during patient skin prep and surgical scrubbing
• Remember skin is not sterile
What are antiseptics?
inorganic chemical compounds that combat sepsis by inhibiting the growth of microorganisms without necessarily killing them. Used primarily on skin to stop the growth of resident flora.
What is asepsis?
Absence of pathogenic microbes in living tissue that cause disease
• PREVENT wound contamination by destroying organisms before they enter the wound
What is Aseptic technique?
Aseptic technique- Principles employed to minimize degree of contamination of a surgical wound.
What is a barrier?
A material used to reduce or inhibit the migration or transmission of microorganisms in the environment: personal attire, gowns, furniture, and patient drapes, equipment, and supply packaging, and ventilating filters
What does it mean to be contaminated?
Carrying or infected by microorganisms
What is cross contamination?
Transmission of microorganisms from patient to patient or from inanimate object to patient.
What is decontamination?
Cleaning and disinfecting or sterilizing processes carried out to make contaminated items safe to handle.
What is sterility?
Sterility – Absence of all forms of microbial life
• Only inanimate objects
What is the most important thing to remember about asepsis in a hospital setting?
Complete absence of microorganisms cannot be reached in a hospital environment but using aseptic techniques will help control pathogens and decrease risk of infection
What is the purpose of aseptic and sterile technique?
• Decrease infection rate
• Minimize sources of contamination
• Block transmission of microorganisms
• Reduce patients’ risk of exposure to
microorganisms that cannot be
removed
What are animal sources of contamination?
- Skin
- Hair
- Nasopharynx; Oral Cavity
- Ear Pinnae
- Vulva, Prepuce, Anus
What are inanimate sources of contamination?
- Fomites & Air
- Hair clipper
- Scrubs
- Hospital structures
- Walls
- Floors
- Furniture
- Equipment
- Lights
What are airborne sources of contamination? How can you limit contamination?
- 1 cubic foot of air contains thousands of particles
- This can increase in longer procedures to more than 1 million
- Decrease foot traffic in sx room (staff, other patients, pet owners)
What is the primary aerial bacterial source? How many microbes shed from skin per minute?
- PRIMARY AERIAL BACTERIAL SOURCE = YOU THE SURGEON
- 3,000-50,000 MICROBES SHED FROM SKIN /MIN/PERSON
W hat should we do to reduce Pathogenic Microorganisms
- Regular hand washing
- Use of non sterile/ sterile gloves when working with sources of pathogens/ high risk patients ( patients with infection/ wounds) ect.
- Cleaning / disposal of equipment between patients
- Proper equipment storage
- Scheduled cleaning of hospital surfaces/ soiled laundry.
- Minimizing unnecessary traffic.
- Proper maintenance of heating, ventilation and AC units.
- Isolation of patients with known pathogenic microorganisms.
What are methods of preparation surgeons use to be aseptic in a procedure?
- Surgeon Preparation:
- Surgical Scrubbing
- Drying of hands
- Gowning
- Gloving
What are methods of preparation are used on patients to be aseptic in a procedure?
- Patient Preparation:
- Surgical site preparation
- Hair removal
- Skin preparation
- Draping
What other preparation should be completed to keep procedures as aseptic as possible?
- Instrument Sterilization
- Sterile technique
- Maintaining a safe environment in the OR
What should a surgeon be wearing?
Surgeon Attire
• Lab Coat
• Surgical scrubs
• Surgery Cap
• Face Mask
• Shoe covers
What is the benefit of scrubbing prior to surgery? How has it changed over time?
- Removes dirt and oil
- Reduces transient bacterial population
• Depression of skin’s resident bacterial population
• Bacteria isolated in skin
Over time we have moved away from using scrub brushes and moved towards alcohol rubs and decreased scrubbing time.
How do you scrub in? What should you remove?
• Remove all jewelry and put on surgery cap, surgery
mask, and booties
• Nail polish??
- Fake nails???
- Make way to sink and open new scrub brush
- Basic hand wash
- Clean fingernails
- Scrub
- Anatomic timed method
• Counted brush stroke method
Why has scrubbing changed?
• Until recently surgical hand asepsis included scrubbing hands and arms with a brush • Studies have shown scrubbing leads to skin damage and increased bacterial counts
• Scrubbing with a brush removes epidermal layers, increases bacterial cell shedding,
increases microbial counts, and changes microbial flora
• Vigorous scrubbing is no longer recommended
How do you scrub in with Avagard alcohol based scrub?
- Remove all jewelry
- Basic hand wash
- Clean fingernails
- Apply hand antiseptic
- 3 pump application
