Unit 1: Infection Control

Endogenous

Begins inside the body

Exogenous

Caused by something outside the body

Nosocomial

Acquired by an individual within a health care facility

Opportunistic

Occur when the body’s defenses are weak

Antimicrobial

An agent that destroys, resists, or prevents the development of pathogens

Autoclave

An appliance used to sterilize medical instruments or other objects by using steam under pressure.

Bloodborne Pathogens

Microorganisms found in human blood that can cause infection and disease.

Bloodborne Pathogen Standard

Federal law requiring that healthcare facilities protect employees from Bloodborne health hazards.

Body Fluids

Tears, saliva, sputum, urine, feces, semen, vaginal secretions, pus or other wound drainage, and vomit.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)

Bacteria that have developed resistance to carbapenems, which are types of antibiotics

Carrier

Person who carries a pathogen, usually without signs or symptoms of disease, but who can still spread the disease.

Catheter

Tube inserted through the skin of into a body opening that is used to administer and drain fluid

C. difficile

A bacterium that is spread by spores in feces that are difficult to kill; it causes symptoms such as diarrhea and nausea and can lead to serious inflammation of the colon.

CDC

Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention; Federal government agency responsible for improving the overall health and safety of the people of the United States

Clean

A condition in which an object has not been contaminated with pathogens

Communicable disease

An infectious disease transmissible by direct contract or by indirect contact

Contagious disease

A type of communicable disease that spreads quickly from person to person

Contaminated

Soiled, uncleam; having disease-causing organisms or infectious material on it.

Cross-infection

The physical movement or transfer of harmful bacteria from one person, object, or place to another, or from one part of the body to another.

Dehydration

An excessive loss of water from the body; a condition that occurs when fluid loss is greater than fluid intake.

Direct contact

Way to transmit Pathogens through touching the infected person or his or her secretions

Direct spread

Method of transmission of disease form one person to another

Dirty

A condition in which an object has been contaminated with pathogens

Disinfection

Process that destroys most pathogens and other types of microorganisms, but not all pathogens

Doff

Remove

Don

Put on

Drainage

Flow of fluids from a wound or cavity

Exposure control plan

Plan that outlines specific work practices to prevent exposure to infectious material and identifies step-by-step procedures to follow when exposures do occur

Exposure incident

Specific eye, mouth, other mucous membrane, non-intact skin, or parental contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that results from the performance of an employee’s duties