NCPO 112: Care of Clients with Problems in Infectious Response

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the chain of infection, hospital precautions, respiratory infections, viral hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and sexually transmitted diseases.

Chain of Infection

A model consisting of six essential elements required for infection to occur: causative agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host.

Carrier

A person who carries or transmits an infectious organism but does not demonstrate apparent signs and symptoms of infection.

Colonization

The presence of microorganisms on or within a host without causing host tissue damage or an immune response.

Infection

A condition in which microorganisms cause a host reaction accompanied by clinical signs and laboratory evidence.

Infectious Disease

A state in which an infection leads to clinical symptoms and a decline in overall wellness.

Standard Precautions

The primary infection prevention strategy designed for all hospital patients, incorporating hand hygiene, PPE, glove use, needlestick safety, and fluid splash prevention.

Transmission-Based Precautions

Infection control measures designed for patients with known or suspected pathogens spread by airborne, droplet, or contact routes.

Airborne Precautions

Isolation measures for airborne pathogens (such as measles, PTB, anthrax, and chickenpox), requiring an N95 respirator and a negative air pressure room.

Droplet Precautions

Isolation measures for droplet-spread pathogens (such as pneumonia, pharyngeal diphtheria, pertussis, influenza, mumps, and rubella), requiring a face mask with the door allowed to remain open.

Contact Precautions

Isolation measures for pathogens spread by direct or indirect contact (such as C. difficile, E. coli, cutaneous diphtheria, HSV, impetigo, scabies, and Ebola), requiring standard precautions and a private room.

Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP)

Pneumonia occurring either in the community setting or diagnosed within the first 48 hours following hospital admission.

Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP)

Pneumonia developing more than 48 hours after hospital admission in patients who showed no evidence of infection at entry.

Aspiration Pneumonia

Pneumonia resulting from the entry of endogenous upper airway flora or exogenous substances (such as gastric contents or chemical gases) into the lower respiratory tract.

Lobar Pneumonia

Pneumonia characterized by inflammatory exudate that involves a large, continuous portion of one or more lung lobes.

Bronchopneumonia

A form of pneumonia presenting as patchy inflammation originating in the bronchi and spreading to surrounding lung tissue.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

An acid-fast, aerobic rod bacterium that grows slowly, is sensitive to heat and UV light, and serves as the primary causative agent of tuberculosis.

Ghon Tubercles

Protective tissue masses formed by immune cells around M. tuberculosis bacilli that undergo caseous necrosis and may calcify into collagenous scars.

Mantoux Method

A tuberculin skin test using an intradermal injection of $0.1\,mL$ purified protein derivative (PPD) to form a $6\text{ to }10\,mm$ wheal, read after 48 to 72 hours by measuring induration.

QuantiFERON-TB Gold Test (QFT-G)

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that detects interferon-gamma released by white blood cells exposed to TB-specific peptides, unaffected by prior BCG vaccination.

RIPES Therapy

First-line antituberculosis medication regimen consisting of Rifampicin, Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide, Ethambutol, and Streptomycin.

Miliary Tuberculosis

A severe form of tuberculosis resulting from hematogenous dissemination, producing diffuse small lung nodules visible on chest X-ray along with systemic symptoms.

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)

A severe, often fatal viral hemorrhagic fever in humans transmitted by direct contact with infected blood, body fluids, or contaminated materials.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV)

A coronavirus infection first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, transmitted via direct or indirect contact with dromedary camels or through human-to-human contact.

Swine Influenza (H1N1)

A respiratory illness caused by type A influenza viruses endemic in pigs that can infect humans exposing them to flu-like symptoms.

Viral Hepatitis

A systemic viral infection producing liver cell necrosis and inflammation leading to characteristic clinical, biochemical, and cellular changes.

Hepatitis A Virus (HAV)

An infectious liver virus transmitted primarily via the fecal–oral route that causes acute, self-limited illness without a chronic carrier state.

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)

A serum hepatitis virus transmitted parenterally, sexually, or perinatally that can result in severe illness, chronic carrier state, cirrhosis, or hepatic cancer.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)

A bloodborne virus formerly called non-A, non-B hepatitis that carries a high likelihood of progressing to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatic cancer.

Hepatitis D Virus (HDV)

A defective virus that requires hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for replication, occurring exclusively in individuals infected with HBV.

Hepatitis E Virus (HEV)

An enterically transmitted hepatitis virus spread via the fecal–oral route that causes acute self-limited illness, which is exceptionally severe in pregnant women.

Hepatitis G Virus (HGV)

A non-A to E hepatitis agent with an incubation period of 14 to 145 days, frequently associated with prior blood transfusions.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

A retrovirus carrying genetic material in RNA and reverse transcriptase that targets CD4+ T lymphocytes, leading to profound immunosuppression.

HIV-1 Replication Cycle

An eight-stage process consisting of attachment, internalization/uncoating, reverse transcription, integration, transcription, translation, polyprotein cleavage, and viral assembly/release.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

The advanced stage of HIV infection defined by a CD4+ T-cell count of less than $200\,cells/\mu L$ or the presence of CDC Category C indicator conditions.

Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART)

A therapeutic regimen combining two or three antiretroviral drugs from different classes (such as NRTIs, NNRTIs, PIs, or INSTIs) to suppress HIV replication.

Pneumocystis Pneumonia (PCP)

An opportunistic fungal infection caused by Pneumocystis jiroveci, recognized as the most common infection in individuals living with AIDS.

Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS)

The most common HIV-related malignancy, involving the endothelial layer of blood and lymphatic vessels and presenting as dark cutaneous or systemic lesions.

AIDS Wasting Syndrome

A Category C AIDS-defining condition marked by involuntary weight loss exceeding 10% accompanied by chronic diarrhea for more than 30 days or chronic weakness with fever.

HIV Encephalopathy

A central nervous system condition caused by HIV infection resulting in a progressive decline in cognitive, behavioral, and motor functions.

Syphilis

A sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponema pallidum that progresses through primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary clinical stages.

Chancre

A painless primary lesion characteristic of syphilis appearing 2 to 3 weeks after infection at the site of exposure, healing spontaneously in about 2 months.

Chlamydia

A sexually transmitted infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, frequently asymptomatic but capable of leading to pelvic inflammatory disease, epididymitis, and infertility.

Gonorrhea

A sexually transmitted infection caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, presenting with purulent discharge or dysuria, and treated primarily with ceftriaxone.

Ophthalmia Neonatorum

A neonatal conjunctivitis contracted during birth from an infected mother with N. gonorrhoeae or C. trachomatis, which can cause corneal ulceration and blindness if untreated.

Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1)

A virus transmitted mainly by oral contact causing oral herpes (cold sores), but capable of also causing genital herpes.

Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 (HSV-2)

A sexually transmitted virus causing genital herpes with painful blisters and ulcers, which increases the risk of acquiring HIV about three-fold.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

The most common STI in young, sexually active individuals, with low-risk types causing genital warts and high-risk types leading to cervical cancer.

Cryoablation

A therapeutic procedure utilizing extreme cold to freeze and destroy abnormal tissue, such as genital warts or precancerous cervical lesions.