Medical Asepsis and Infection Control

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the infection cycle, stages of infection, medical and surgical asepsis, and CDC isolation precaution guidelines.

Bacteria

The most significant and most prevalent infectious agents in hospital settings.

Virus

The smallest of all microorganisms.

Fungi

Plantlike organisms present in air, soil, and water.

Reservoir

The natural habitat of the microorganism, which can include other humans, animals, soil, food, water, milk, and inanimate objects.

Portal of Exit

The point of escape for the organism from the reservoir, commonly through the respiratory, gastrointestinal, or genitourinary tracts, breaks in skin, or blood and tissue.

Virulence

The ability of an organism to produce disease.

Incubation period

The first stage of infection occurring between the pathogen's invasion of the body and the appearance of symptoms of infection.

Prodromal stage

The stage where a person is most infectious; early signs and symptoms of disease are present but are often vague and nonspecific.

Full stage of illness

The stage of infection characterized by the presence of specific signs and symptoms of disease.

Convalescent period

The recovery period from the infection.

Localized Infection Signs

Localized swelling, redness, pain or tenderness with palpation/movement, palpable heat, and loss of function in the affected body part.

Systemic Infection Signs

Fever, increased pulse and respiratory rate, malaise, loss of energy, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and enlargement/tenderness of regional lymph nodes.

Medical asepsis

Also known as clean technique; includes practices intended to confine a specific microorganism to a specific area, limiting their number, growth, and transmission.

Surgical asepsis

Also known as sterile technique; practices that keep an area or object free of all microorganisms and spores.

Nosocomial Infections

Infections acquired in a health care facility; risks include diagnostic/therapeutic procedures, compromised host, and insufficient hand hygiene.

Iatrogenic infections

A type of nosocomial infection resulting specifically from a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure.

Five Moments for Hand Hygiene

1. Before touching a patient, 2. Before a septic procedure, 3. After body fluid exposure risk, 4. After touching a patient, 5. After touching patient surroundings.

Universal Precautions

An approach to treat all human blood and certain body fluids as if they were known to be infectious for $HIV$, $HBV$, and other bloodborne pathogens.

Standard precautions

Safety measures used in the care of all hospitalized patients regardless of diagnosis; apply to blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions, nonintact skin, and mucous membranes.

Transmission-based precautions

Precautions used in addition to standard precautions for patients with suspected infections; include airborne, droplet, or contact precautions.

Isolation

Precautions taken to prevent the spread of an infectious agent from an infected or colonized patient to susceptible persons.

Airborne Precautions

Used for diseases transmitted by small droplet nuclei smaller than $5\,\mu\text{m}$, such as Measles, SARS, Chicken Pox, Herpes Zoster, and Tuberculosis.

Droplet Precautions

Used for diseases transmitted by large droplets larger than $5\,\mu\text{m}$, including Sepsis, Scarlet fever, Pertussis, Influenza, and Meningitis.

Contact Precautions

Utilized for diseases transmitted by direct patient or environmental contact, including Multidrug resistant organisms (MDRO), Clostridium difficile, and Scabies.

N-95 Respirator

A fit-tested disposable respirator that must be donned prior to entering the room of a patient on airborne precautions.

Negative airflow

A barrier protection requirement for airborne precautions involving at least $6$ air exchanges per hour.