Infection Control (Egan Chapter 4)

VOCABULARY flashcards covering the principles of infection control, modes of transmission, prevention strategies, and equipment processing based on Egan Chapter 4.

Hospital-acquired infection (HAI)

An infection developed by about $4\%$ of patients admitted to the hospital, also known as a nosocomial infection.

Community onset

Infections that develop outside of the hospital environment.

Hospital onset

Infections that develop within the hospital setting, also referred to as nosocomial.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

A common cause of infection in the hospital setting.

Fomites

Inanimate objects, such as contaminated medical equipment, that are capable of spreading infectious agents.

Biofilm

A potential issue created on the endotracheal tube (ETT) that increases the risk of nosocomial infections.

Indirect contact transmission

The most common mode of transmission in the hospital, occurring through intermediate inanimate objects like a pen.

Respiratory droplets

Pathogens spread within $3\,\text{feet}$ of an infected person through coughing, sneezing, talking, or procedures like suctioning and bronchoscopies.

Airborne droplet nuclei

Respirable particles less than $5\,\mu m$ that can reach central airways; examples include mycobacterium tuberculosis, chickenpox, and measles.

Obligate transmission

Disease transmission that occurs only through airborne (droplet nuclei) aerosols under natural conditions, such as tuberculosis.

Preferential transmission

Infection that can result from multiple routes, though airborne transmission predominates, such as measles.

Opportunistic transmission

Microorganisms that typically cause disease through droplet or contact routes but may be transmitted via airborne aerosols under certain environmental conditions, such as SARS.

Cohorting

Practice of grouping patients with the same infection in rooms together (same sex only) to prevent spreading infection to new patients.

Prevention bundles

The use of multiple evidence-based best practices combined to prevent device-related infections, such as a VAP protocol.

Standard precautions

A combination of Universal Precautions and Body Substance Isolation applied to all patients at all times, covering blood, all body fluids, nonintact skin, and mucous membranes.

Hand hygiene

The most emphasized infection control measure, involving washing with soap and water for at least $15\,\text{seconds}$ or using alcohol-based gel.

Contact precautions

Expanded precautions intended to reduce transmission by direct or indirect contact, most commonly used for multidrug resistant organisms like Clostridium difficile.

Airborne infection isolation

Isolation techniques for small droplet nuclei including a negative pressure room with two air exchanges per hour and HEPA filters.

Protective environment

A specialized engineering approach for highly immunosuppressed patients that includes HEPA filtration of incoming air and positive room air pressure relative to the corridor.

Cleaning

The first step in equipment processing which involves removing dirt and organic material using soaps and detergents.

Disinfection

A process that destroys the vegetative form of all pathogens except bacterial spores using chemical or physical methods.

Pasteurization

The most common physical method used for disinfection.

Sterilization

The destruction of all microorganisms, including spores, achieved via physical (steam) or chemical (ethylene oxide) approaches.

Ethylene oxide

A colorless and toxic gas used for low-temperature sterilization of medical devices.

Surveillance

An ongoing process of monitoring patients and personnel for the acquisition of infection, administered by an infection control expert.