CORRECT Answers
Professional standards and guidelines to help control -the centers for disease control (CDC)
infections -the agency for healthcare research and quality (AHRQ)
-JCAHO or TJC (the joint commission)
-Quality and safety education for nurses (QSEN)
-Public Health Department
-American Nurses Association (ANA)
What is the chain of infection? 1. infectious agent (bacteria, virus, protozoa)
2. reservoir (has to have reservoir to grow--humans, animals, bigs, food, or water)
3. portal of exit (sneezing, coughing)
4. mode of transmission (you can touch it then put in mouth. organisms: need
food, water, certain pH, dark and moist area)
5. portal of entry
6. host (have to be susceptible to infection
*how it exits is same as entry**
What are influencing factors? -not well nourished
-exhausted
-stressed
-smokers
-medications
What are some risk factors that make a person more -very old and very young
susceptible to disease? -at risk...chronic diseases
-diabetes
-immunodeficiency
What are sites that can predispose patients to infection? -surgical wounds
-respiratory tract
-genitourinary tract
-invasive devices
-bloodstream ---always have clean skin
-venipuncture sites
-total parenteral nutrition therapy (TPN) --gives nutrition through IV
-implanted prosthetic devices
What are defenses against infection? -normal floras (help kill other bacteria that gets on body; microorganisms that
don't cause problems
-body system defenses (blinking, crying)
-inflammation
-vascular and cellular responses (if organisms stay where they are supposed to
be, everything will be okay)
, What is the inflammation process? -formation of inflammatory exudate
--serous (clear fluid)**
--sanguineous (blood)**
--purulent (infection)
-tissue repair
--granulation (not as strong as original tissue)
---when you have a cut: body's natural response
--brown, red, green; indicates infection
systemic infection:cant control localized infection
**natural inflammatory response
What is the course of infection? 1. incubation period: pathogens enters body prior to symptoms
2. prodromal stage: symptoms kind of start (no energy, tired) (miroraganism is
multiplying)
3. illness stage: know what's going on, ex-sore throat
4. convalescence: symptoms and infections dissapear but illness is lingering
What is the infection process? -local/systemic (stays in one spot ex: UTI)
-primary/secondary- Primary: infection happened there. secondary: antibiotics kill
primary but cause another infection
-acute/chronic (acute: rapid/onset Chronic: lasts for a long time )
-colonization (microorganism in body but not causing disease process ex: MRSA)
-latent (lies dormant ex: TB has been cured but dormant and can be activated)
Assessment--physical -clinical appearance
--intactness of 1st line of defense (any breaks in the skin, health status?)
--local symptom of infection
---REDA (redness, edema, drainage, approximation)
---COCA (color, odor, consistency, amount)
--systemic symptoms of infection
--symptoms specific to body system involved
assessment--physical (lab data) -WBC=5,000 to 10,000 per microliter of blood (if WBC count goes up that means
theres an infection somewhere)
-ESR-presence of inflammation
--culture reports (blood cultures, throats swabs
Clinical manifestations--local ex: infection in the thumb
-redness
-inflammation
-heat
-pain
-drainage
-movement
-limitation
clinical manifestations--systemic -fever
-fatigue (malaise)
-nausea/vomiting
-high HR and respirations
-low BP
**when heart rate goes up, BP goes down and decreases blood supply to the