FUNDAMENTALS OF NURSING

ASEPSIS

● Exogenous - from hospital environment,

INTRODUCTION
personnel
● Resident flora - collective vegetation in an area
● Infection - growth of microorganisms in body
THE CHAIN OF INFECTION
tissue where they are not usually found
● Disease - detectable alteration in normal tissue
function
● Virulence (strength) - ability of a microorganism to
produce disease
● Communicable disease - transferable to individual
by direct or indirect contact
● Pathogenicity - ability to produce disease;
opportunistic pathogen
● Asepsis - freedom from disease-causing
organisms
● Medical asepsis
○ All practices intended to confine a specific
microorganism to a specific area
○ Limits number, growth, and transmission
of microorganisms
○ Objects referred to as clean or dirty
(soiled, contaminated)
● Surgical asepsis (sterile technique)
○ Practices that keep area or object free of all
microorganisms
○ Practices that destroy all microorganisms
and spores
○ Used for all procedures involving sterile
areas of the body
● Sepsis is the state of infection.

TYPES OF MICROORGANISMS THAT METHOD OF TRANSMISSION

CAUSE INFECTIONS
● Direct transmission
● Bacteria - most common ● Indirect transmission
● Viruses - primarily consist of nucleic acid ○ Vehicle-borne - any substance
● Fungi - yeasts and molds ○ Vector-borne - animal or insect
● Parasites - live on other living organisms ○ Airborne transmission - droplet nuclei

TYPES OF INFECTIONS BODY DEFENSES AGAINST INFECTION

● Colonization of resident flora not infection
● Invasion to unprotected area is infection.
NONSPECIFIC DEFENSES
● Local infection
○ Limited to a specific body part
● Systemic infection - spreads and damages different ● Inflammatory response
body parts ○ Inflammation - local, nonspecific
● Bacteremia - microorganisms in the blood defensive response of the tissues to
● Septicemia - systemic infection resulting from injurious or infectious agent
bacteremia
● Acute infections - appear suddenly or last a short
period of time
● Chronic infections
○ May occur slowly over a long period
○ May lasts months or years

NOSOCOMIAL AND HEALTH

CARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS
● Nosocomial - infections that originate in the
hospital
● Endogenous - from clients themselves

LUIS BRYSON BONDAD 1

 FUNDA5: ASEPSIS

NURSING MANAGEMENT

DIAGNOSING
● Risk for Infection
○ State in which an individual is at increased
risk for being invaded by pathogenic
microorganisms
● Risk factors
○ Inadequate primary defenses
○ Inadequate secondary defenses
● Examples
○ Potential Complication of Infection: Fever
○ Imbalanced Nutrition: Less than Body
Requirements
○ Acute Pain
○ Impaired Social Interaction or Social
Isolation
○ Anxiety

5 MOMENTS FOR HAND HYGIENE

1. Before touching a patient
2. Before clean/aseptic procedure
3. After body fluid exposure risk
4. After touching a patient
5. After touching patient surrounding

LUIS BRYSON BONDAD 2