Infection Prevention and Control
PPE (Personal Protecting Equipment)
Definition
Infection prevention and control has been defined as
the clinical application of microbiology in practice.
More simply, it is a collective term for activities
intended to protect people from infections
Used Terms
Infectious agent
Pathogen
Colonization
Healthcare-associated infection (HCAI)
Cross-infection
Universal precautions
Standard precautions
Definitions
Infectious agent - anything that may be transmitted from one person to
another, or from the environment to a person, and subsequently cause
an infection or parasitic infestation. Infectious agents are most often
micro-organisms such as bacteria or viruses
Pathogen - a micro-organism that is capable of causing infection. Many
micro-organisms are opportunistic pathogens; that is, they will cause
infection in vulnerable individuals but not, normally, in healthy adults
Colonization - when micro-organisms are present on or in a person but
not currently causing any harm. For example, human beings are normally
colonized with huge numbers of several different species of bacteria
Contamination – presence of a microorganism on a body surface or an
object
Definition
Healthcare-
associated
infection (HCAI)
Universal Precautions
Correctly called universal blood and body fluid
precautions:
these are the precautions that are taken with all blood
and ‘high-risk’ body fluids
Standard Precautions
• Standard precautions are the actions that should be taken in every care
situation to protect patients and others from infection, regardless of what
is known of the patient’s status with respect to infection. They include:
• Hand hygiene at the ‘5 moments’ described by the WHO ( 2009a ),
including before and after each patient contact care in the use and
disposal of sharps
• The correct use of personal protective equipment for contact with all
blood, body fluids, secretions and excretions (except sweat)
• Providing care in a suitably clean environment with adequately
decontaminated equipment
• The safe disposal of waste
• The safe management of used linen
Transmission-based precautions
Additional infection control precautions taken with patients known or
strongly suspected to be infected or colonized with organisms that pose
a significant risk to other patients
Transmission-based precautions can be divided into:
• Contact
• Enteric
• Droplet
• Airborne
Isolation
Is the practice of nursing a patient in a single-occupancy room
to reduce the risk of spread of pathogens and to reinforce and
facilitate additional infection control precautions
Source isolation - the practice of isolating a patient for the
main purpose of preventing the spread of organisms from that
patient
Protective isolation - the practice of isolating a patient for the
main purpose of preventing the spread of organisms to that
patient, normally used for patients with impaired immune
systems
Cohorting
When the number of patients with a particular infection or
carrying a particular organism exceeds the single room
capacity of a healthcare provider, they may be nursed
together in a cohort
This is most often done for highly infectious conditions such as
norovirus. Patients who require isolation but have different
infections cannot be cohort nursed together because of the
risk of cross infection between them
Nursing types
• Barrier nursing - the practice of nursing a patient who is
carrying an infectious agent that may be a risk to others in
such a way as to minimize the risk of transmission of that
agent to others
• Reverse barrier nursing - the practice of nursing an
individual who is regarded as being particularly vulnerable to
infection in such a way as to minimize the transmission of
potential pathogens to that person
Equipment
Surgical Hand Washing
1.Remove rings 2.Cover wounds
3.Remove nails
Procedure
4.Turn on tap 5.Run water until hot
6.Wet hand surface
7.Put soap on hands
8.Clean beneath the nails by soft
scrubbing brush 9.Wash hands for
2 minutes 10.Each arm from wrist
to elbow for 1 minute 11.Keep
hands higher
Post procedure
12.Dry hands by one direction
13.Dispose paper towels in the
rubbish bin
putting on and removing
sterile gloves
Pre Procedure
1.Hand wash2.Equipment prepare
Procedure
3.Open glove pack 4.Clean Hands again
5.Hold the cuff of the dominant hand glove
by another one and slide the hand
Don’t contaminate outside
6.Put your right hand 2 fingers under the
folded cuff of the left glove and slide the
hand
7.When both are on adjust them to fit more
Post procedure
8.Remove them like non sterile one
9.Put them in the hazardous bin
PPE = Apron
Worn to:
Prevent contamination of skin and clothing
Pre procedure
1.Remove apron from dispenser with clean
hands
Procedure
2.Place neck loop , tie the ties
Post procedure
3.Remove it by breaking the ties and neck loop
Grasp it from inside
4.Dispose it in the hazardous bin-Orange
Disposable mask and
respirator
Worn when:
Infectious agents may be transmitted via
exposure to respiratory secretions.
When there is potential for splash or spray.
Caregivers have respiratory illness.
Mask Type depends on exposure risk:
Droplet - standard surgical mask
Air born - #95 respiratory mask
Putting on and removing
of disposable mask
EYE PROTECTION
Worn when:
There is a potential for
splash or spray.
Types – eye shields, face
shields and goggles.
The front of used
eyewear is considered
contaminated
Safe Use of Sharps
Sharps are never reused,
bent or recapped.
Where present, sharps
safety devices are to be
engaged immediately
following use.
Use syringes with safety
locks.
Discard sharps
appropriately using sharp
containers.
Never use your hands to
pick up broken glasses
Regulated Medical Waste
Thank you for your attention!
This presentation does not represent the studying
material
Reading: The Royal Marsden Manual of
Clinical Nursing Procedures. Part One. Chapter 3
