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Virulence - ✔✔Ability of pathogen to invade and injure host (ability to produce
disease)
non-specific (innate) immunity - ✔✔first line of defense against invasion by pathogens
specific adaptive immunity - ✔✔allows the body to make antibodies in response to a
foreign organism (antigen)
Prevention of HAI - ✔✔1. Hand washing
2. Sterile procedure
3. Skin integrity
Types of Healthcare Associated Infections - ✔✔Iatrogenic infection
exogenous infection
endogenous infection
Iantrogenic (HAI) - ✔✔results from diagnostic procedure
Exogenous (HAI) - ✔✔from microorganisms outside the body
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,Endogenous (HAI) - ✔✔overgrowth of natural flora (opportunistic)
Who is at risk for infection? - ✔✔Immunocompromised
Post operative
Indwelling device
Break in the skin
impaired circulation
chronic disease
crowded environments
older adults
poor life choices
Common HAI infection routes - ✔✔1. Surgical or trauma wound
2. Urinary
3. resp. Tract
4. bloodstream
Chain of Infection - ✔✔1. Infectious agent
2. Reservoirs - where does the infectious agent reside
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,3. Portal of exit - how does pathogen leave the body (sneeze/cough)
4. Means of transmission - how exposed to another person
5. Portal of entry - how does pathogen enter a new host
6. Susceptible host - person at risk for developing infection
Means of transmission - ✔✔1. Contact (Direct or indirect)
2. Droplet (sneeze, cough, talking), large particles
3. Airborne (cough, sneeze, exhaling), small particles suspended in air
4. Vector (animals/insects)
Stages of Infection - ✔✔1. Incubation - the time between pathogen enters the body and
first symptoms
2. Prodromal - General symptoms appear pathogen is multiplying (nonspecific like
fatigue)
3. Illness - specific symptoms of pathogen appear (ex: strep = sore throat)
4. Convalescence - symptoms are gone, recovery lasts days to months
Infection control - ✔✔Patient safety
Separate personal care items
Handling solid and fluid waste
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, Wound cleaning
Patient education
Cough etiquette
isolation and isolation precautions
surgical asepsis
Devices at risk for infection (HAI) - ✔✔-Catheter - avoid if possible, remove as soon as
possible
-IV - can be left in 72 hrs max
Nursing Process of Infection
1. Assessment - ✔✔-Review of systems
-Travel hist. And immunizations
-Early recog. Of risk factors
-Patient susceptibility to infection
-Current medical therapy
-Clinical appearance of patient
-Signs and symptoms of infection
-Lab data (WBC, ESR, CRP), WBC 15,000-20,000 definite infection
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