(10.0) General Info

What are Airborne Precautions? What diseases are involved with airborne precautions? What materials would you need to protect yourself and the patient?

Airborne precautions are PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT AGAINST INFECTIOUS DROPLETS SMALLER THAN 5MCG

• Diseases it’s involved

  • TUBERCULOSIS

  • MEASLES

  • VARICELLA (chicken pox)

  • COVID 19

• Materials to protect self

  • N95 or HEPA RESPIRATOR

• Materials to protect patient

  • PRIVATE, NEGATIVE AIR PRESSURE ROOM

What’s the difference between a positive and negative pressure room?

NEGATIVE PRESSURE rooms KEEP AIR INSIDE (and not let it escape outside) so that other people do not get the infectious disease

• This helps prevent the spread of diseases

POSITIVE PRESSURE room KEEPS AIR OUTSIDE, PREVENTING AIR FROM GOING IN

• You want to use a positive-pressure room for someone who is immunocompromised because you don’t want them to get anything that may be harmful to their respiration

What is Droplet Precautions? What diseases are involved with droplet precautions? What materials would you need to protect yourself and the patient?

• Droplet precautions are precautions used for anything that is "“liquidy”

  • e.g, cough/sneeze particles, etc

• Diseases involved:

  • Influenza

  • Pertussis (whooping cough)

  • Mumps

  • Rubella

  • Pneumonia

  • Meningitis

  • Influenza

  • Scarlet fever

  • Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

  • (Anything RESPIRATORY)

• Precautions to protect SELF

  • Wear a MASK and GLOVES

    • Not necessarily the N95 masks

    • You don’t need to wear gowns unless dealing with blood or body fluids (or contaminated surfaces)

  • Also do hand hygiene

• Precautions to protect the patient

  • PROVIDE PRIVATE ROOM

  • WEAR MASK DURING TRANSPORT

  • Minimize movement

    • Don’t have the patient go outside often

⭐ What are Contact Precautions? What diseases are involved with contact precautions? What materials would you need to protect yourself and the patient?

• Contact precautions are precautions to take when you are going to have direct physical contact with a patient or indirect contact with the contaminated reservoir

• Diseases involved:

  • MRSA/VRE

  • C DIFF

  • SHIGELLA

  • RSV

  • Skin and wound infections

    • e.g, scabies, impetigo

• Precautions to protect yourself

  • Wear gloves and a gown when handling a patient with contact precautions

  • Always do hand hygiene

  • Use disposable equipment

    • If an item has to be reused, then make sure you thoroughly clean it

• Precautions to protect patients

  • Make sure that the patient is in a private room or they are roomed with A patient who has the same condition

  • Make sure that infected wound areas are covered

  • They don't necessarily have to wear masks

⭐ What are antibiotics used for? What are some of the RISKS of antibiotic usage? What are some surgical considerations? When do you NOT use the antibiotics?

• These are USED TO TREAT BACTERIA; it’s NOT EFFECTIVE AGAINST VIRUSES

• Risks of antibiotic usage: ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

  • This is a risk because it causes bacteria to evolve and survive, rendering treatments ineffective

• Surgical considerations: “mycin” antibacterial meds could cause respiratory paralysis if it’s combined with certain muscle relaxants

• DON’T USE when: there’s a VIRAL INFECTION, NO ACTIVE INFECTION

⭐What’s the purpose of collecting urine before antibiotics? Why is it CRUCIAL to collect it? What is the ROLE of the nurse for urine collection?

• The purpose of collecting urine before antibiotics is to identify what kind of bacteria is causing an infection of some sort

• It's important to collect the urine to make sure that the patient is getting the right antibiotic for whatever kind of infection they are going through, in case the medication is wrong

• The role of the nurse is to make sure that appropriate specimens are collected

What are the s/s of infection? What are the ATYPICAL SYMPTOMS for older adults? What are some nursing intervention to help decrease infection?

• Normal s/s of infection

  • fever, chills, diaphoresis (abnormal sweating), malaise (general feeling of discomfort), and increased pulse and respiratory rates

• Atypical s/s for older adults

  • agitation, confusion, incontinence, any changes in mental status

• Nursing interventions

  • Practice HAND HYGIENE

  • Make sure STANDARD PRECAUTIONS ARE USED (e.g, gloves, gown, mask)

  • ASEPTIC TECHNIQUE (procedure to prevent spread of microbes)

Describe the stages of pressure injuries

• Stage 1: INTACT SKIN, NON-BLANCHABLE REDNESS

• Stage 2: PART-THICKNESS LOSS, LOSS OF EPIDERMIS

• Stage 3: FULL-THICKNESS LOSS, FAT VISIBLE

• Stage 4: FULL-THICKNESS LOSS, FAT AND BONES VISIBLE

What are the causes of pressure injuries? What nursing interventions can be done to prevent it from getting worse?

• Causes

  • External pressure

  • Friction or

  • Temperature and moisture of the skin

• Interventions

  • Make sure the patient is shifted every two hours (changing their position)

  • Keep the skin dry

  • Elevate the feet

  • Provide some support In Bony prominences

What are the different WOUND COMPLICATIONS? What interventions can be done to prevent it?

• Different wound complications

  • Desiccation: DEHYDRATION OF TISSUE

  • Maceration: Skin breakdown due to too much moisture of the skin

  • Edema: Swelling

• Interventions

  • Make sure that the skin is dry and clean

  • Give antibiotics

  • Address dressing changes

  • (Anything where you FOCUS ON CLEANING, INFECTION CONTROL, AND PROTECTING THE WOUND)

Explain the common HAIs (Health care associated infections) CAUTI, SSI, CLABSI, MRSA, CDI. What are the most effective prevention strategies for it?

• CAUTI: Catheter-associated UTI

• SSI: Surgical Site infection

• CLABSI: Central line associated bloodstream infection

• MRSA: Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus

  • This is a type of bacteria that is resistant to several common antibiotics and can cause infection

• CDI: C. Diff Infections

Anything that a patient contracts in the hospital is considered a healthcare-associated infection

• So if was put on a ventilator because of an infection that they accumulated while staying in the hospital that would be considered a health care associated infection

What is the chain of infection? What does the cycle consist of? What do we do to break each chain of infection?

Chain of infection DESCRIBES THE SPREADING PROCESS OF AN INFECTIOUS AGENT FROM ONE PERSON/PLACE TO ANOTHER

• The cycle:

  • Infectious agent: this is the BACTERIA, VIRUS, ETC (the PATHOGEN)

  • Reservoir: this is WHERE THE AGENT LIVES

  • Portal of Exit: HOW THE AGENT LEAVES THEIR HOME

    • Common portals

      • Respiratory tract (e.g, sneezing)

      • GI tract

      • GU tract (e.g, poop)

      • Blood

      • Breaks in the skin

  • Mode of Transmission: how the AGENT TRAVELS FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER

    • e.g, direct/indirect contact, droplets, airborne

  • Portal of Entry: How the agents ENTER their host

    • Common portals

      • Respiratory tract (e.g, sneezing)

      • GI tract

      • GU tract (e.g, poop)

      • Blood

      • Breaks in the skin

  • Susceptible Host

What do we do to break each chain of infection?

• To break the infectious agent link: HAND HYGIENE and STERILIZATION

• To break the reservoir link: FOLLOW TRANSMISSION-BASED PRECAUTIONS and USE DISPOSABLE SUPPLIES

• To break the portal of entry/exit link: KEEP WOUNDS COVERED, WEAR GLOVES and PPE, practice respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette

• To break the means of transmission: REFRIGERATE THE FOOD, HAND HYGIENE

• To break susceptible host link: MAINTAIN IMMUNIZATION, have good nutrition and hydration to support immune system

Explain the stages of infection (incubation, prodromal, full stage of illness, and convalescent period).

• Incubation: Time from when the pathogen enters to when general symptoms start to show up

  • You don't really see a lot of symptoms happening in the stage because this is when the pathogen just first enters the body

• Prodromal stage: Time from when the pathogen has caused general symptoms to show up to when the symptoms start to intensify

  • This is the stage when general symptoms start showing up like chills or runny nose or fatigue occurred

  • The person is most infectious at this time because the pathogens continue to multiply

• Full stage of illness: Stage one specific illness starts to show up

  • For example, illnesses like sore throat, extreme nausea, or anything where some symptom has intensified would be when the full stage of illness has occurred

• Convalescent period: This is the stage when the illness starts to disappear and the body starts to feel better

  • The Body returns to baseline