Unit IX - Concepts of Infection Control Flashcards
ATI - Infection Module
After assisting a newly admitted patient in removing his shoes and outerwear, you notice what appears to be soil or grime on your hands. You
A. cleanse your hands with an alcohol-based gel.
B. wash your hands with soap and water.
C. brush off the soil against a cloth surface.
D. use a wet paper towel to remove the soil.
B. wash your hands with soap and water.
Rationale:
The CDC recommends washing with soap and water whenever hands are visibly dirty. In this case, it is the combination of friction, running water, and the properties of soap that remove the soil from hands.
ATI - Infection Module
Contact precautions would be mandated for a hospitalized adult patient diagnosed with
A. hepatitis B.
B. measles.
C. meningitis.
D. infectious diarrhea.
D. infectious diarrhea.
Rationale:
Contact precautions are essential for preventing the spread of certain enteric infections. These precautions mean no direct touching of the patient, the environment, the equipment, or the supplies used. The patient should be in a private room.
ATI - Infection Module
Which of the following is an advantage of using alcohol-based gel?
A. Its use takes less time than washing with soap and water does.
B. It removes gross contamination better than soap and water does.
C. Its protective nature reduces the need for frequent handwashing.
D. It provides adequate protection before surgical applications.
A. Its use takes less time than washing with soap and water does.
Rationale:
During an 8-hour shift, an estimated 1 hour of an intensive care unit nurse’s time is saved by hand rubbing with an alcohol-based gel.
ATI - Infection Module
You are caring for a patient diagnosed with mycoplasma pneumonia. Droplet precautions have been instituted, so you must
A. wear a respirator.
B. protect your eyes.
C. use an air filter
D. wear shoe covers
B. protect your eyes.
Rationale:
Droplet transmission involves contact of infectious, large-particle droplets with the conjunctive or the mucous membranes of the nose or mouth of a susceptible person. Droplets are generated by the patient during coughing, sneezing, or talking, and during procedures such as suctioning and bronchoscopy.
ATI - Infection Module
You are about to irrigate a patient’s open wound. Beside gloves, which other item of personal protective equipment (PPE) must you wear?
A. A sterile gown
B. Gown
C. A face shield
D. An N95 respirator
C. A face shield
Rationale:
A face shield protects the face, mouth, nose, and eyes from any potential splashes or blood or other body fluids. Irrigating a wound certainly has the potential for splashing irrigating fluid containing blood, body fluids, and tissue particles onto your face.
ATI - Infection Module
To decontaminate your hands with an alcohol-based gel, you rub them together until all of the gel has evaporated and your hands are dry. The primary reason you do this is that
A. drying provides the full antiseptic effect.
B. residual alcohol can easily stain clothing.
C. excess gel could transfer tot he patient
D. slippery gel can make you drop supplies
A. drying provides the full antiseptic effect.
Rationale:
A dry environment offers better protection against the proliferation of pathogens than a moist environment does. The bactericidal alcohol components of these gels further enhance their superior antiseptic effect.
ATI - Infection Module
Which product can affect the permeability of gloves?
A. Antimicrobial soap and water
B. Alcohol-based antiseptic gel
C. Petroleum-based hand lotion
D. Water-based hand lotion
C. Petroleum-based hand lotion
Rationale:
The use of petroleum-based hand lotions or creams can impair the integrity of latex gloves, weakening them and increasing their permeability.
ATI - Infection Module
Standard precautions mandate
A. rinsing gloves that become visibly soiled during use.
B. using antimicrobial soap for routine handwashing.
C. disinfecting hands immediately after removing gloves.
D. Keeping gloves on when touching environmental surfaces.
C. disinfecting hands immediately after removing gloves.
Rationale:
Although it might seem as though hands covered by intact gloves would be as clean as they were when you donned the gloves, it is essential component of standard precautions to disinfect your hands immediately after glove removal. This often concludes a patient-care procedure, and hand hygiene is mandated between patient contacts. Also, you cannot assume that the integrity of each glove has not been breached, that no powder or other residue remains on your hands, and that your hands have not been contaminated during glove removal.
ATI - Infection Module
A patient has a nosocomial infection. This terminology means that the patient
A. became infected due to compromised immunity.
B. was infected during a therapeutic procedure.
C. inhaled pathogens in a healthcare setting.
D. acquired the infection while hospitalized.
D. acquired the infection while hospitalized.
Rationale:
A nosocomial infection is one that is acquired in a hospital. Most nosocomial infections are caused by pathogens transmitted from one patient to another by healthcare workers who do not practice good hand-hygiene technique or do not disinfect their hands between patient contacts. Note that the term the CDC now uses for infections associated with health care delivery in any setting (hospitals, long-term care facilities, ambulatory settings, home care) is healthcare-associated infection (HAI)
ATI - Infection Module
You are washing yor hands with non-antimicrobial soap and water prior to repositioning a patient in bed. During the handwashing procedure, it is important to
A. make sure that the water is hot.
B. continue for at least 15 seconds.
C. use a liquid soap preparation.
D. remove rings and watches first.
B. continue for at least 15 seconds.
Rationale:
Handwashing with non-antimicrobial soap and water for at least 15 seconds reduces bacterial counts and can remove loosely adherent transient flora. The CDC recommends rubbing hands together vigorously for at least 15 seconds, covering all surfaces of the hands and fingers.
What is resident flora?
Normal microorganisms that occur or have adapted to live in a specific environment.
They are always present, usually without altering the clients health in one part of the body, yet produce infection in another. (See page 509 - Berman Book)
Define infection
It is an invasion of body tissue by microorganisms.
If it does not produce clinical evidence of disease, then it is called asymptomatic. (See page 509 - Berman Book)
What is virulence as related to microorganisms
It is the frequency with which a pathogen causes disease. (See “Infection Control Powerpoint, Slide #5)
What is potency as related to microorganisms
Their inherent capacity for growth and reproduction. (See page 509 - Berman Book)
Define pathogens
Disease producing microorganisms (See “Infection Control” Powerpoint, Slide #5)
Define pathogenicity
The ability of microorganisms to produce disease. (See “Infection Control” Powerpoint, Slide #5)
What is asepsis?
It is the freedom from disease causing microorganisms. (See page 510 - Berman Book)
What are the two basic types of asepsis?
Medical and surgical
What does medical asepsis include?
It includes all practices intended to confine a specific microorganism to a specific area, limiting the number, growth, and transmission of microorganisms. (See page 510 - Berman Book)
Its is the absence of disease. Procedures used to reduce the number of microbes and stop the spread. (See “Infection Control” Powerpoint - Slide #32)
What does surgical asepsis include?
It includes procedures used to eliminate any microorganisms from an area. The process of sterilization destroys all microorganisms and their spores. (See “Infection Control”, Slide #32)
Define Sepsis
It is the state of infection.
List four major categories of microorganisms that can cause infection in humans?
1) Bacteria
2) Viruses
3) Fungi
4) Parasites (Protozoa)
(See page 510 - Berman Book)
