• Asepsis - being free of infection, absence of disease
producing microorganism.
• Sepsis - presence of pathogenic organism in the blood or
body tissues.
• Antiseptic - substance usually intended for use on person
that inhibits the growth of pathogens but does not
necessary destroy them.
• Disinfection - process by which pathogens are destroyed.
• Disinfectant - substance used for inanimate objects that
destroys pathogens but generally does not destroy spores.
• Fungicide - substance that destroy fungi.
• Germicide/Bactericide - substance that destroy germ/
bacteria but not necessary spores.
• Virucide - substance that destroys viruses.
• Contamination - process by which something is rendered
clean/ unsterile.
• Infection - is a disease state resulting from the presence of
pathogens in the body.
• Iatrogenic Infection - infections that are direct result of
a diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. (Ex. Using
unsterile instruments.)
• Nosocomial Infection - hospital acquired infection;
infection associated with the delivery of health care
services in a health care facility.
• Pathogen - a disease causing microorganism.
• Pathogenicity/Virulence - ability to produce disease.
• Standard Precaution - precautions used in the care of all
hospitalized person regardless of their diagnosis or possible
status.
• Universal Precaution - techniques to be used with all the
clients to decrease the risk of transmitting unidentified
pathogens.
• Isolation Precaution - measures designed to prevent the
spread of infections or potentially infectious
microorganisms to heath personnel, clients, and visitors.
• Teratogenic - substance that is harmful to fetus.
• Non-pathogen - a microorganism that does not cause a
disease.
CHAIN OF INFECTION
or
INFECTION CYCLE
Can either be bacteria (most common and
a.
most significant in health care institution),
fungi, virus, or parasite.
• Factors that contribute to the potential
b.
effect of the microorganism:4
• Number of organism
• Virulence of organism
• Competence of a person’s immune
system
• Length and intimacy of contact between
the person and the microorganism
a. A place where the microorganism will grow
and multiply
b. The natural habitat of an organism (food,
water, milk, soil, objects, humans.)
a. Point of escape/ exit of the organism from
reservoir.
Organisms need to move away from the
b.
original source to extent damage.
a. Act or the means of transmitting organism
from one place to another.
b. This bridges the gap between the agent and
its host by contact.
c. Mechanism:
• Direct Contact - involves immediate and
direct transfer of microorganisms form
person to person through touching,
biting, kissing, or sexual intercourse.
• Indirect Contact
• Vehicle Borne - there is a substance
that serves as the immediate means
to transport and introduce infectious
agent (utensils, ballpen, plate, pillow)
• Vector Borne - animal or flying,
crawling insects that serves as an
immediate means of transporting the
infectious agent by injecting salivary
fluid through biting or by depositing
feces or other materials on the skin.
• Airborne - may involve droplets or dust.
• Droplet Nuclei - the residue of
evaporated droplets emitted by an
infected host.
a. Point at which organism cross a person’s
defense system.
a. Any person who is at risk for infection
Instruments Equipment Protection and security
• Single most effective way of preventing the spread of
organisms thereby interrupting Chain of Infection.
Type of Bacteria normally found in the hands
• Resident Bacteria / Normal Flora - found on the creases of
the skin, relatively in greater number and more stable.
• Transient Bacteria - normally picked by the hands in the
usual activity of daily living (ADL). Relatively few on clean
and exposed area of the skin. Attach loosely to the skin
usually with grease, dirt, soil (found in greater number under
the fingernails.)
Before and after When assisting with Before contact with When handling blood Whenever there is a
prolonged contact or performing immunosuppressed and body fluids, question about the
with client. invasive procedures. client. secretions or any necessity of
contact with mucus handwashing.
membrane.
1 2 3. 4 5
• includes all the practices used to prevent the spread of
microorganisms
• Divided into medical asepsis and surgical asepsis
• Also referred as clean technique
• The practice of techniques and procedures designed to
reduce the number of microorganisms in an area or object
thus reducing the likelihood of their transfer
• Takes on added importance in the presence of individuals
who are more susceptible to infections (Ex.
Immunocompromised (on chemotherapy, leukemia, HIV),
clients for surgery)
• Awareness and proper use if medical asepsis avoids the
transfer of microorganisms.
• Microorganisms move on air currents.
• Avoid shaking or tossing linens which can create air
currents on which microorganisms can be transported.
• Microorganisms are transferred from one surface to another
whenever object touch.
• Microorganisms are transferred by gravity when one item is
held above another.
• Microorganism are released into the air on droplet nuclei
whenever a person breaths, speaks, cough, or sneeze increases
the number but move quickly through moisture.
• Microorganisms move slowly on dry surface but move quickly
through moisture.
• Proper handwashing removes many of the microorganisms
that can be transferred by the hands from one item to another.
• Also referred as Sterile Technique
• Required in areas of non-intact skin (as in during surgery,
open wound, 3rd degree burn, and area of the body that are
normally sterile (eyes, inside of bladder.)
• Includes all sterile procedures and techniques used to
remove all microorganisms from an area.
• Involves using a sterile field which consist of a sterile surface
draped with a sterile towel or paper.
Surgical Asepsis
Purpose of using Surgical Asepsis
• To eliminate all microorganism as well as spores from
objects that come in contact with the tissue of the body
that are normally sterile.
• To protect patients from possible infections when normal
body defense are not intact
Indications
• Used most extensively in operating and delivery rooms.
• When performing invasive procedures (injections,
catheterization, dressing changes, IV therapy.)
• All articles used in an operation have been sterilized
previously.
• Person who are sterile touch only sterile articles. Person who
are non-sterile touch only unsterile articles.
• Non-sterile persons avoid reaching over a sterile fields. Sterile
person should avoid leaning over unsterile areas.
• Tables are only sterile at table levels.
• Gowns are considered sterile only form waist to upper level, in
front and in the anterior parts of the sleeves.
• Sterile persons keep well within the sterile area to allow wide
margin of safety when passing unsterile field.
• Sterile persons keep contact with sterile are to minimum
• Moisture can cause contamination
• When bacteria can be eliminated from a field, they must be
kept to an irreducible minimum (Ex. skin)
• If in doubt about sterility of something, consider it unsterile.
