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Summary about infection control
Summary about infection control
Infection prevention in hospital setting
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At the beginning the of the 20th century, efforts at isolation moved toward placing individuals together in one hospital infectious disease hospitals or a hospital ward where caregivers used gowns and antiseptic solutions handwashing barriers to disease for transmission Patients who were considered infectious were routinely placed general hospital units in separate rooms or in multiple-patient rooms with other patients who had the same infection by 1970, the Centers for Disease Control.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was actively involved in developing and recommending infection-control practices and procedures for hospitals. In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its specific guidelines for transmission-based precautions.
Still now
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• Types of precautions
1. Strict isolation:
Designed for highly contagious infections that are spread by both airborne droplet nuclei and contact transmission. e.g.: varicella, Disseminated herpes zoster, Viral hemorrhagic fevers. Technique includes:
• Private room.
• With negative airflow.
• The use of masks, gowns, and gloves for all persons entering the room.
2. Contact Isolation:
Used for infections, diseases, or germs that are spread by touching the patient or items in the room (examples: MRSA, VRE, diarrheal illnesses, open wounds and RSV). Technique includes: • Private room.
• Masks for those personnel providing close direct care to the patient.
• Gowns if soiling is likely.
• Gloves for touching infective material.
• Wear a gown and gloves while in the patient’s room.
• Remove them before leaving the room.
• hand washing or use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving the room.
• Visitors must check with the nurse before taking anything into or out of the room.
3. Respiratory
Identifying patients correctly when providing Care: Nurses are supposed to have two resident Identifiers when trying to care for a patient for the first time and after that, one identifier is acceptable. Identifiers such as Room number or location are not acceptable. To ensure this is carried out correctly nurses must ask for two identifiers in situations such as specimen collection, when providing treatments or when collecting blood for clinical testing (containers must be labeled in front of the patient). The Purpose of this guideline is to ensure that the patients are been properly identified and that they are receiving the right treatments and medications (The Joint Commission, 2012).
Heymann, D. (2004). Control of Communicable Diseases Manual.18th edition. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.
During the 18th century hospitals served as a purpose to shelter older adults, the dying, orphans, and vagrants. Hospitals than also served a purpose to protect the inhabitants of a community from the contagiously sick and the dangerously insane (Sultz, 2009, p. 70). These facilities were more of a safe house than the hospitals we see today. People who did not have homes were welcome to stay there, and instead of preventing people from dying, they catered to those who were already on their way to see death. The U.S. also had pest houses, quarantine, stations and isolations hospitals
Scott II, D. R. (2009). The direct medical costs of healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals and the benefits of prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/pdfs/hai/Scott_CostPaper.pdf
Newsom, S.W.B, “Pioneers in infection control-Joseph Lister.” Journal of Hospital Infection 55, (2003): 246-253, accessed March 7, 2014, http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/science/article/pii/S0195670103003049?
...s and measurement to decrease healthcare- associated infections. American Journal Of Infection Control, pp. S19-S25. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2012.02.008.
(2014) shed light on two key components for infection control, which includes protecting patients from acquiring infections and protecting health care workers from becoming infected (Curchoe et al., 2014). The techniques that are used to protect patients also provide protection for nurses and other health care workers alike. In order to prevent the spread of infections, it is important for health care workers to be meticulous and attentive when providing care to already vulnerable patients (Curchoe et al., 2014). If a health care worker is aware they may contaminate the surroundings of a patient, they must properly clean, disinfect, and sterilize any contaminated objects in order to reduce or eliminate microorganisms (Curchoe et al., 2014). It is also ideal to change gloves after contact with contaminated secretions and before leaving a patient’s room (Curchoe, 2014). Research suggests that due to standard precaution, gloves must be worn as a single-use item for each invasive procedure, contact with sterile sites, and non-intact skin or mucous membranes (Curchoe et al., 2014). Hence, it is critical that health care workers change gloves during any activity that has been assessed as carrying a risk of exposure to body substances, secretions, excretions, and blood (Curchoe et al.,
Prevention of hospital-acquired infections: review of non-pharmacological interventions. Journal of Hospital Infection, 69(3), 204-219. Revised 01/20 Haugen, N., Galura, S., & Ulrich, S. P. (2011). Ulrich & Canale's nursing care planning guides: Prioritization, delegation, and critical thinking. Maryland Heights, Mo. : Saunders/Elsevier.
...s and hoses, control buttons, switches, hand pieces, and X-ray units (Collins). After every patient’s visit, the operatory is to be sterilized and disinfected. All areas that were that were not covered with a barrier, or if the barrier was compromised, must be wiped down with surface disinfectants similarly used in hospitals. OSHA requires disinfectants to be potent enough to fight against HIV and HBV infections (Collins). If there is any blood present on a surface, tuberculocidal type disinfectant should be utilized.
Circulating nurses must check the expiry date and the integrity of the packaging and wear the correct PPE prior to opening the articles. Each article must maintain its sterility; therefore the setup must be continuously monitored. Instrument nurses must create the sterile field using sterile drapes as they minimise the transference of microorganisms. They must also keep their hands at chest level, as areas below table height can be easily contaminated (Australian College of Operating Room Nurses, 2010).
With science taking a new direction, people became healthier as vaccines, pasteurization, anesthesia, antiseptics, and the importance of personal hygiene were introduced. With the scientific advancements, scientists were able to study deadly diseases more closely. After the germ theory was introduced, Louis Pasteur developed vaccines to combat rabies and anthrax and introduced pasteurization to killed disease-carrying microbes in milk. The discovery of vaccinations enabled people to become immune to the deadly diseases out in the world. Florence Nightingale introduced the necessary sanitary measures that each hospitals should take and Joseph Lister discovered antiseptics that should be used to sterilize instruments before being used to operate surgeries. After these introductions of sanitary measures in hospitals, the rate of patients who died of infection days after the surgery decreased. People were able to live longer and survive more diseases, consequently increased the population and supply of workers.
When Hippocrates discovered that the growing and maturing organisms needed a special attention ─rather than the already developed organisms─ hospitals began creating separate shelters for children to be cared for in. At this time, “…the world had no idea they would be saving so many lives in the future” (Hope Lives Here). In the year of 1802, Hôpital des Enfants Malades (French for Hospital for Sick Children), was opened in Paris to separate the children from the adults. “Before these buildings were opened, most illnesses that children contracted were treated at home because infants and children admitted to adult hospitals of...
The Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Program is an essential force maximizing quality, patient centered care, and safety throughout the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS). The VANTHCS “... is a progressive health care provider in the heart of Texas ... we serve more than 117,000 Veterans and deliver 1.4 million outpatient episodes of care each year to Veterans in 38 Texas counties and two counties in southern Oklahoma” (“VA North Texas,” 2016, para. 1). The purpose of the IPC Program is to guide a facility-wide approach toward identifying, preventing, controlling, and eliminating healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). This approach is facilitated through infection control (IC) practitioner’s role-modeling behaviors of assessing, supporting, guiding, and/or directing healthcare providers (HCPs) in the application of evidence-based practices (EBPs) to prevent HAIs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HAIs are often preventable adverse events that pose a major threat to patient safety (“Centers for Disease,” 2016). As a result, IC practitioners recognize the importance of preparing nurse faculty to engage clinical staff in the application of EBPs to prevent infections.
In health care, safety does not only pertain to the patient, but to all of the staff as well. Although this is important, it is critical that nurses are safe, since they usually interact with the patients the most. If a nurse does not follow correct safety and health practices, they may cause harm to the patient, which may end up in a lawsuit if the damage is bad enough. If safety measures are followed and nothing wrong happens, this saves the facility money and it could possibly gain money if the patients refer the facility to other potential customers. Every facility should have a policy pertaining to safety measures, and it should be reviewed as needed. One thing that nurses will need to know is how to properly use lifts and
Biosecurity practices, on the other hand, ensure that access to the laboratory facility and biological materials are limited and controlled. An inventory system must also be in place to control and track biological stocks or other potentially hazardous biological agents in both biosafety and biosecurity programs. For biosafety, the transfer and shipping of infectious biological materials must comply with safe packaging, containment and appropriate transport procedures, while biosecurity ensures that transfers are controlled, tracked and documented relative to the potential risks of the materials being transferred. Both programs must involve the laboratory staff in the development of practices and procedures that fulfill the requirements of biosafety and biosecurity initiatives without hindering research or clinical/diagnostic activities. The success of both of these programs is anchored on a laboratory culture that understands and accepts the need for the implementation of biosafety and biosecurity programs in the laboratory environment and the corresponding management oversight.