S5) Hospital Acquired Infections Flashcards
What are healthcare infections?
Healthcare infections are infections which arise as a consequence of providing healthcare
For hospital acquired infections, when is the onset?
At least 48 hours after admission (infection isn’t present/incubating at time of admission)
Which people are affected by healthcare infections?
- In-hospital patients
- Healthcare workers
- Hospital visitors
Why are healthcare infections important?
- Frequent
- Preventable
- Impact health & healthcare organisations
Identify some types of HCAI in order of prevalence
- C.difficile
- UTI (catheter)
- Pneumonia (ventilator)
- Surgical wound infections
- Primary bloodstream (central line)
Identify 8 types of patients who are more susceptible to HCAI’s
- Extremes of age
- Obese/malnourished
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Immunosuppresion
- Smoker
- Surgical patient
- Emergency admission
In terms of infection prevention and control, outline the ‘patient’ component for HCAI’s
- General and specific patient risk factors for infections
- Interactions with other patients, healthcare workers and visitors
In terms of infection prevention and control, outline the ‘place’ component for HCAI’s
Healthcare environment:
- Fixed features
- Variable features
In terms of infection prevention and control, outline the ‘practice’ component for HCAI’s
- General and specific activities of healthcare workers
- Policies and their implementation
- Leadership at all levels from government to ward
In terms of infection prevention and control, outline the ‘pathogen’ component for HCAI’s
- Virulence factors
- Ecological interactions (other bacteria, antibiotics/disinfectants)
Illustrate the different methods of transmission for HCAI’s
Identify some HCAI viruses
- Hepatitis B&C
- HIV
- Norovirus
- Influenza
- Chickenpox
Identify some HCAI fungi
- Candida albicans
- Aspergillus species
Identify an HCAI parasite
Malaria – Plasmodium falciparum
Identify some HCAI bacteria
- Staph aureus (MRSA)
- C.difficile
- E.coli
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Klebsiella pneumoniae
What is antibiotic resistance?
Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria to resist the effects of antibiotics previously used to treat them
What are the three mechanisms of antibiotic resistance?
- Natural resistance
- Genetic mutation
- Acquired resistance (between species)
What are some reasons for antibiotic resistance?
- Misuse of antibiotics
- Spontaneous mutation
Outline the implementation of infection control in terms of patient interventions
Halting patient to patient transmission:
- Isolation of infected patients
- Protection of susceptible patients
Outline the implementation of infection control in terms of healthcare worker interventions
- Ensure healthcare workers are healthy, disease-free and vaccinated
- Ensure healthcare workers practice good clinical techniques (PPE, hand hygiene and antimicrobial prescribing)
Outline the implementation of infection control in terms of environmental interventions
- Cleaning (disinfectants & steam cleaning)
- Medical devices (single use equipment, sterilisation, decontamination)
- Good food hygiene practice
- Appropriate kitchen and ward room facilities
- Positve/negative pressure rooms
Outline the I-five principle
- Identify (diarrhoea/vomiting, BBV, rash)
- Isolate
- Investigate
- Inform
- Initiate
What is the function of Personal Protective Equipment?
PPE protects the user against health/safety risks at work (includes gloves, aprons, eye protection, masks)
Provide 3 reasons as to why antimicrobial resistance is a global concern
- Threatens the ability to treat common infectious diseases, resulting in prolonged illness, disability, and death
- Increases cost of health care (lengthier hospital stays, more intensive equipment)
- Makes procedures like organ transplantation, chemotherapy, major surgery and diabetes very high risk
