Infection and Inflammation Quiz

Infection Control and Isolation

• Infection control involves a sequence of steps necessary for an infection to occur
• This sequence includes the infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host

The Chain of Infection

• An infectious agent can be bacteria, fungi, virus, parasite, or prion
• A reservoir is the habitat of the infectious agent; it can be animate (a person) or inanimate (soil, food) where the agent lives, grows, and reproduces
• A portal of exit is the means by which the infectious agent can leave the reservoir; this can include the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract, blood and body fluids, skin, mucous membranes, and transplacental transfer
• Modes of transmission include contact (spread from person to person), droplet (<1 meter), airborne (>1 meter), or vector borne (insects like mosquitoes, ticks, flies), or vehicle (contaminated objects) transmission

Modes of Transmission

• Contact: occurs when pathogens are directly transferred between people
• Droplet: small liquid particles from the respiratory tract travel short distances and enter a host's mucosa
• Airborne: small particles move through the air to another person
• Vector-borne: pathogens transmitted by an intermediary organism
• Vehicle: Pathogens transmitted by a contaminated object or substance

Direct and Indirect Contact

• Direct: pathogens move directly from infected person to another; example Herpes
• Indirect: pathogens are transferred by contaminated objects (e.g. Staphylococcus Aureus) or by another person

Portal of Entry

• An entry point for the pathogen, which can be any bodily orifice or the skin
• Can be the same as portal of exit (e.g., GI tract)

Host Susceptibility

• Host susceptibility is affected by age, underlying diseases, HIV/AIDS, malignancy, transplants, medications, surgical procedures, radiation, indwelling devices, and breaks in the skin.
• Poor oxygenation, poor nutrition, hygiene, smoking, and living environment can also affect host susceptibility

Body Defenses

• Non-specific immunity - the body's first line of defense
• Physical and Chemical Barriers: skin, mucous membranes, tears, sweat, urine and cilia, acids and enzymes
• Nonspecific Immunity: Phagocytes (neutrophils, macrophages) engulf and destroy invading microorganisms

Specific Immunity

• Specific immunity involves antibodies (immunoglobulins) from B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes
• This immunity has memory, allowing a faster response to subsequent encounters with the same pathogen

Inflammatory Response

• Inflammation is triggered by infectious and non-infectious agents.
• Chemicals like histamine, bradykinin, and prostaglandins are released, causing inflammation.
• Manifestations of inflammation include heat, redness, swelling, pain, and loss of function.
• Treated with medications like antihistamines and NSAIDs.

Stages of Infection

• Incubation: time between infection and the first symptoms
• Prodromal: time between general symptoms and specific symptoms
• Acute illness: obvious and severe manifestations of the infectious disease process
• Decline: Manifestations begin to decrease as the disease process is controlled
• Convalescence: The client returns to a normal or "new normal" state of health

Local vs Systemic Infections

• Local: infection confined to one area of the body
• Systemic: infection that spreads through the bloodstream, affecting the entire body

Diagnostic Tests

• Diagnostic tests useful in identifying infections include chest x-rays, urine tests, sputum tests, and blood tests, including white blood cell counts (WBC), and specific elements like neutrophils.
• These also include tests regarding inflammation such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).

Hand Hygiene

• Hand hygiene involves cleansing hands using soap and water or alcohol-based sanitisers, hand rubs, antiseptic handwashes or surgical hand antisepsis.

Medical vs Surgical Asepsis

• Medical asepsis (clean technique): focuses on reducing the number of microorganisms; includes practices like hand hygiene, cleaning equipment, using PPE, and cough etiquette.
• Surgical asepsis (sterile technique): focuses on eliminating microorganisms; usually practised in operating rooms during surgical procedures.

Sterilization and Disinfection

• Sterilization: completely eliminates or destroys all microorganisms
• Disinfection: eliminates or kills most, but not all, microorganisms

Standard Precautions

• Standard precautions are infection prevention practices used for all patients, regardless of their infectious status
• Includes hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, gloves, gowns, and eye protection, and appropriate handling and disposal of contaminated materials (sharps containers, etc.)

Contact, Droplet, and Airborne Precautions

• Contact Precautions: used for infections spread by direct contact
• Droplet Precautions: used for infections spread by direct contact with respiratory droplets (coughing/sneezing)
• Airborne precautions: used for infections spread by small particles that remain suspended in the air.

Health Care-Associated Infections (HAIs)

• HAIs are infections acquired in a healthcare setting during a patient stay
• The four major types of HAIs are central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, surgical site infections, and ventilator-assisted pneumonias.
• Prevention strategies include infection control bundles, protocols to minimize risk of infection, and increased attention to prevent transmission.
• Multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) are infections that are resistant to several types of antibiotics

Needlestick Injury Prevention

• Use safety needles as these prevent needle sticks.
• Understand how safety needles work and safety mechanisms.
• Engage safety devices promptly after use.
• Use sharps containers appropriately for disposal to prevent needle stick injuries
• Needleless systems should be preferred whenever available

Engage Fundamentals

• Skills, fundamental takeaways, flashcards, glossary, and post-test are all key components for engaging with learned material.