Infection Prevention and Control in Healthcare

Infection Prevention and Control (IP&C)

• The main goal of IP&C is to prevent the transmission of health-care-associated infections to patients and EMS practitioners.

Routine Practices

• Routine practices do not include the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Hand hygiene (HH) is the single most effective IP&C procedure to control infections in the workplace and reduce the spread of infections.

Infection Prevention and Control Risk Assessment (IPC-RA)

• Perform an IPC-RA for any of the following:
  • Presence of blood or body fluid
  • Assess for signs and symptoms of infections (respiratory tract infection, gastrointestinal tract infection, septic shock, specific site infections)
  • Performing an aerosol generating medical procedure

Hand Hygiene (HH)

• Perform HH:
  • Before entering or touching a patient or their environment (except during emergent events)
  • Before any aseptic procedure
  • After exposure to body fluids
  • After leaving the patient or their environment

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Isolation Procedures

• PPE is used only if IPC-RA indicates (Additional Precautions)
• Types of isolation procedures and corresponding PPE:
  • Contact precautions (e.g., antibiotic resistant organisms)
    • Hand hygiene, gown, and gloves
  • Contact and Droplet precautions (e.g., respiratory infections, sepsis, diarrheal or vomiting patients)
    • Hand hygiene, gown, simple mask, safety glasses/face shield, and gloves
  • Modified Respiratory precautions (e.g., respiratory symptoms and aerosol-generating medical procedures)
    • Hand hygiene, gown, N-95 respirator, safety glasses/face shield, and gloves
  • Droplet precautions (e.g., mumps, pertussis)
    • Hand hygiene, gown, simple mask, safety glasses/face shield, and gloves
  • Airborne precautions (e.g., tuberculosis, measles)
    • Hand hygiene, N-95 respirator
  • Airborne and Contact precautions (e.g., chicken pox, disseminated shingles)
    • Hand hygiene, N-95 respirator, gown, gloves

Additional Precautions and Guidelines

• Aseptic/clean technique:
  • Applied prior to invasive procedures, or medication administration
• Sharps handling:
  • Activate safety engineered device
  • Dispose of at point of care
• PPE removal:
  • Remove before entering the healthcare facility unless there is a continued risk of exposure
• Cleaning and disinfection:
  • Must be performed following every patient care event
  • Hospital-grade disinfectant requires firm pressure and adequate wet time to remove pathogens
• Stretcher linen:
  • Must be changed following every patient care event
• Pre-arrival communication and documentation:
  • Alert receiving facility if the patient is suspected to have an infection risk in the IPC-RA
  • Document level of Additional Precautions, PPE use, and exposure, if applicable

This quiz assesses knowledge of infection prevention and control practices in healthcare settings, including routine practices and additional precautions. It covers the importance of risk assessment and personal protective equipment in preventing healthcare-associated infections.