LEC 3

• Sepsis is a clinical condition where infectious agents spread throughout the body from a localized site of infection, manifesting symptoms of organ damage
• Asepsis is the absence of disease-producing organisms and is divided into medical and surgical asepsis
• Medical asepsis is any practice that reduces the number and spread of microorganisms
• Surgical asepsis is a process that eliminates completely all microorganisms and their spores from the surface of an object
• Infection is the growth of microorganisms in the body, and an infectious disease is a disease where pathogens invade a susceptible host and carry out at least part of their life cycle in that host
• Infection process is a cycle with six links, and to produce disease, each link in the infectious process must be present in a logical sequence. Removing one link in the chain will stop the infection cycle
• Chain of Infection:

  • Infectious agent causes infection and disease
  • Reservoir stays in our body, where the germ leaves and grows
  • Portal of exit way out is how the germ leaves the infected person to spread
  • Mode of transmission is how the germ spreads from one person to another, through bodily fluid contact or object contact
  • Portal of entry way in is how the germ enters another person
  • Susceptible host is a person at risk of infection because they are unable to fight the infection
• Aseptic techniques are used to minimize contamination
• General Aseptic Procedure:

  • Frequent hand washing by hospital personnel is a basic measure to prevent the spread of infection
  • Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks, gowns, goggles, and gloves offers protection when handling body secretions or open wounds
  • Fingernails should be kept clean and short
  • Health education is important to prevent the spread of communicable disease
• Control of Healthcare-Associated Infections:

  • Handwashing is a basic measure to prevent the spread of infection
  • Universal precautions are specific measures to handle patients with an unknown pathogen to decrease the risk of transmission
  • Transmission-based Precautions are developed to further prevent the spread of infectious agents
• Principles of Surgical Asepsis:

  • All objects used in a sterile field must be sterile
  • A sterile object becomes non-sterile when touched by a non-sterile object
  • Sterile fields must always be kept in sight
  • Any puncture, moisture, or tear that passes through a sterile barrier must be considered contaminated
  • Sterile persons or objects may only contact sterile areas
• Isolation is the process of separating an individual with an infectious disease from the rest of the healthy population to prevent the spread of infection
• Preventing Infection in the Community:

  • Proper health education on the sources of infection and transmission of infection is important
  • Sanitation techniques such as water purification, proper garbage disposal, and educating people on proper food handling are essential