asepsis fnp

• Gowns

  A type of personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by healthcare personnel
• Purpose of gowns

  • Protect the HCP from contact with blood or bloody fluids
  • Protect the HCP from organism in environment, on equipment or from an infected or colonized patient
  • Protect patient from organisms that could be passed from HCP during invasive procedure, such as a central line insertion or surgical procedure
• Gown classification


  • Isolation gown
  • Procedure gown
• Isolation gown


  A non-sterile gown used to keep clothing from getting contaminated, fluid resistant enough to keep body fluids away from clothing, used for care of patients on contact precautions and for splash generating procedures, may be disposable or non-disposable
• Procedure gown


  A non-sterile, usually disposable gown, may be fluid resistant or fluid impermeable depending on the amount of body fluids involved in the procedure, examples include endoscopy and vaginal birth
• Microorganisms


  Most are harmless and some are beneficial in that they perform essential functions in the body
• Bacteriocins


  Microorganisms found in the intestines that produce substances lethal to related strains of bacteria
• Normal resident flora


  The collective vegetation in a given area, some microorganisms are normal resident flora in one part of the body, yet produce infection in another
• Infection


  The growth of microorganisms in body tissue where they are not usually found, if the microorganism produces no clinical evidence of disease, the infection is called asymptomatic or subclinical
• Disease


  A detectable alteration in normal tissue function, microorganisms vary in their virulence (i.e, their ability to produce disease)
• Communicable disease


  If the infection agent can be transmitted to an individual by direct or indirect contact or as an airborne infection
• Pathogenicity


  The ability to produce disease
• Pathogen


  A microorganism that causes disease
• Opportunistic pathogen


  Causes disease only in susceptible individuals
• Asepsis


  The freedom from disease-causing microorganisms
• Sepsis


  The condition in which acute organ dysfunction occurs secondary to infection
• Aseptic technique


  To decrease the possibility of transferring microorganisms from one place to another
• Medical asepsis


  All practices intended to confine a specific microorganism to a specific area, limiting the number, growth, and transmission of microorganisms
• Clean


  Objects with the absence of almost all microorganisms
• Dirty (soiled, contaminated)


  Objects likely to have microorganisms, some of which may be capable of causing infection
• Four techniques of medical asepsis

  • Sanitization
  • Antisepsis
  • Disinfection
  • Sterilization
• Sanitization


  Practices associated with basic cleanliness, such as handwashing, cleansing of eating utensils and other surfaces with soap and water, and providing clean linens and clothing, physically removes pathogens, thereby preventing their spread
• Antisepsis


  Takes sanitation one step further, by actually killing microbes or stopping them from growing, an antiseptic is a chemical that is capable of killing a pathogen, or preventing it from growing, can be used on the skin or other surfaces
• Disinfection


  Involves the use of stronger chemicals to kill pathogens, the chemicals used for disinfection are too strong to be used on the skin, disinfectants are used to clean non-living objects that come in contact with body fluids or substances
• Sterilization


  Used on objects that must be completely free of any microbe, such as surgical instrument, hypodermic needles, or intravenous (IV) catheters, equipment is sterilized either by placing items in an autoclave or soaking the items in chemicals that destroy all microbes, boiling is NOT an effective method of sterilization
• Barrier methods: PPE


  Objects that physically prevent microbes from reaching a health care provider's skin or mucous membranes, examples include disposable gloves, gowns, masks, and protective eyewear
• Isolation (transmission-based) precautions


  • Standard
  • Isolation
  • Airborne
  • Droplet
  • Contact
• Standard precautions


  Are specifically used to protect health care workers from pathogens that are transmitted in blood, since you may not know if a person has this type of infection, standard precautions are used for everyone
• Isolation precautions


  Include precautions that are used when a person is known to have a disease that is transmitted a certain way, for example, via the air, in droplets, or by direct contact
• Airborne precautions


  Are used when caring for people infected with pathogens that can be transmitted through the air
• Droplet precautions


  Used when caring for people with diseases caused by pathogens that are transmitted by direct exposure to droplets released from the mouth or nose (when a person coughs, sneezes, or talks)
• Contact precautions


  Are used when caring for people with diseases causes by pathogens that are transmitted directly (by touching the person), or indirectly (by touching fomites)
• Four major categories of microorganisms

  • Bacteria
  • Viruses
  • Fungi
  • Parasites
• Classification of microorganisms by shape

  • Cocci - sphere
  • Bacilli- rods
  • Spiral - spirilla
• Classification of microorganisms by colony

  • Diplo- Pairs of bacteria
  • Strepto- Chains
  • Staphylo- grape-like
• Classification of microorganisms by survival

  • Aerobic: need oxygen to live
  • Anaerobic: die if oxygen are present
• Viruses


  Consist primarily of nucleic acid and therefore must enter living cells in order to reproduce, smallest of all microorganisms, can only be seen using a speci
• Illnesses caused by viruses

  • Common cold
  • Chicken pox
  • Hepatitis
  • HIV
  • AIDS
• Fungi


  A group of plant-like organisms that scientists have classified together because of certain characteristics, including the make-up of their cell walls
• Illnesses caused by fungi

  • Ringworm
  • Athletes foot
  • Thrush
  • Candidiasis