Learning objective
Demonstrate the devastating effects of inadequate infection control and know how to minimize the risks of contamination
Knowledge requirements
o know the extent of the problem of infection
o know the main causes and types of infection
Performance requirements
o apply universal precautionso be immunized against Hepatitis Bo use personal protection methodso know what to do if exposedo encourage others to use universal
precautions
What is the urgency?o can no longer rely on antibioticso increased rates of nosocomial infectionso infected patients:
o stay longer in hospitalo dieo treated with more toxic and less effective
drugso prone to surgical site infections
Campaigns to decrease infection rates
o WHO “Clean hands are safer hands” campaign
o Centers for Disease Control and Prevention campaign to prevent antimicrobial resistance in health-care settings
o Institute for Healthcare Improvement “5 million lives” campaign
Main causes of infection
o person-person via hands of health-care providers patients and visitors
o personal equipment (e.g. stethoscopes, personal digital assistants) and clothing
o environmental contaminationo airborne transmissiono carriers on the hospital staffo rare common-source outbreaks
Main types of infections
o urinary track infections usually associated with catheters
o Surgical infectionso blood stream infections associated with the
use of an intravascular deviceo pneumonia associated with ventilators o other sites
Burke J Infection control-a problem for patient safety New Eng Journal of Medicine
Main types of infections
Prevention in hospitals
o visibly clean o increased cleaning during outbreakso use hypochlorite and detergents during
outbreaks
Prevention through handwashing
o how to clean handso rationale for choice of clean hand practiceo technique for hand hygieneo protecting hands from decontaminateso promoting adherence to hand hygiene
guidelines
o keep handling to a minimum o do not recap needles; bend or break after
useo discard each needle into a sharps
container at the point of useo do not overload a bin if it is fullo do not leave a sharp bin in the reach of
children
Safe disposal of sharps
Performance requirements
o apply universal precautionso be immunized against Hepatitis Bo use personal protection methodso know what to do if exposedo encourage others to use universal
precautions
Act to minimize spread of infection
o before contact with each and every patient:o clean hands before touching a patient o clean hands before an aseptic task
o after contact with each and every patient: o clean hands after any risk of exposure to
body fluidso clean hands after actual patient contacto clean hands after contact with patient
surroundings
o students may routinely observe staff who:
o apply inadequate technique in handwashing o fail to wash handso routinely violate correct infection control
procedures
Encourage others to participate in infection control
Summaryo know the main guidelines in each of the clinical
environments you are assignedo accept responsibility for minimizing opportunities for
infection transmission o let staff know if supplies are inadequate or depletedo educate patients and families/visitors about clean
hands and infection transmissiono ensure patients on precautions have same standard
of care as otherso frequency of entering the roomo monitoring vital signs
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