Clinical Tip #9
Infectious disease is a serious concern when an environment contains saliva and blood. Always be sure to follow universal precautions while working with patients. You may encounter a sweet, beautiful and very well dressed patient in her twenties and will be shocked to see her medical history reveals she had AIDS. It is not a disease of the promiscuous or poor, but reveals itself in all of society. This is probably the most important chapter to understand when working with infectious materials. Be sure to protect yourself, and to not spread disease.
Definitions
AIDS: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
Antibiotic prophylaxis: Antimicrobial drugs prescribed to a compromised dental patient prior to their treatment. It
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Critical Instrument: An instrument nornally used to penetrate soft tissue or bone.
Cross-contamination: The dispersing of microorganisms from one instrument or patient to another.
Disinfection: The process of destroying disease-causing microorganisms by physical or chemical means.
Immunization: Vaccinations to help ward off disease.
Infection control barriers: A removable barrier to ward off contamination. The material should over the chair headrest, countertop, the arm and PID, control panel and the exposure button before the patient is seated.
OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration if a federal agency to oversee health and safety in the working environment.
Parental exposure: Exposure to blood or other infectious material that results in skin puncture.
Pathogen: A microorganism that can cause disease.
Sterilization: A process used to destroy all pathogens, including highly resistant bacteria and spores.
Universal precautions: A protocol of infection control that is followed for all patients regardless of their history and clinical condition.
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Sterilization produces the absence of all microorganisms, even spores. Disinfection will kill pathogenic organisms, but not spores. Saliva is often contaminated with blood so there is a potential for transmission of a blood-borne disease. Although the films are subjected to developing and fixing solutions during processing, they are not shown to act as sterilizing agents. Microorganisms have been found to adhere to radiographic equipment, rollers, tracks, and film hangers for up to 48 hours after use. There are specific infection control procedures for before, during, and after radiographic exposure. Barriers should be used, and only items of necessity should be touched. The supplies need to be set out prior to treatment, and hands washed before donning gloves. Film packets should be wiped dry of saliva outside of the operatory, and contaminated barriers discarded. Surfaces, thyroid collar and the apron should all be disinfected after
Following the proper guidelines for reducing the risk of transmission of TSEs in a clinical setting, the risk has been greatly reduced. As mentioned before no iatrogenic transmission from a medical instrument has been recorded since 1976 since following the standard guidelines. In an experiment by Amin et al., they examined the risk of transmission of vCJD via contact tonometry. They outlined that transmission could be further reduced by using larger volumes of washes for extended periods of time and also adding wiping between washes (16). This could help in the future to completely eradicate TSE transmission completely by increasing sterilisation methods. Proper training on all aspects of transmission of TSEs through medical equipment and proper sterilisation methods should be updated just to keep staff up to date to prevent the risks of TSEs transmission.
Summary: In this journal Deborah Ward speaks about how hand washing is only the first step in infection prevention and that there are many other steps that must be taken such as the use of sterile gloves. Mrs. Ward talks about client home care and how with these clients it is not always easy to keep a sterile environment. Deborah Ward explains how when using alcohol rubs is that they need to be used just as thoroughly as soap and water. While alcohol rubs are handy hand washing should still be taking place every time a nurse enters a patient's room. Mrs. Ward explains how as the nurse you should always be doing risk assessments for what form of personal protective equipment you should be utilizing while working with clients. She also explains
The OSH Act gave OSHA the authority to come into work places and inspect facilities for health and safety risks. Due to shortages in personnel, OSHA inspects accidents and safety complaints that are filed, and those facilities that have a high volume of accident rates. If an individual state has an approved safety and health enforcement plan, then they may be exempt from yearly inspections by OSHA and have their own state personnel conduct the inspections. The Act sets a maximum penalty for safety and health violations, but OSHA has the authority to calculate fines. If an industry objects to the citation or fine, they can go before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Weston, Debbie. Infection Prevention and Control: Theory and Clinical Practice for Healthcare Professionals. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Print.
In conclusion, it is important for the dental staff to treat all patients as if they are infected. A patient may or may not choose to disclose any information pertaining to their disease or they may not be aware of it. It is also important for the dental staff to have immunizations done at regular intervals. The hygienist needs to make sure he or she protects him or herself as well as the patient during treatment. Discrimination against someone with a disease is illegal. With that in mind it is the clinician’s duty to be aware of diseases he or she may come into contact with and how to treat the patient.
...y, and it is important that care is taken to ensure bodily fluids, blood, excretions, etc. are not brought into contact with skin, mucous membranes, clothing, and the treatment area4. Additionally, all reusable equipment should be sterilized before reuse1,4.
The purpose of this paper is to describe CAUTIs, the methodologies used to find the guideline, and to explain how the guideline helps to prevent CAUTIs. CAUTIs are a pain for hospitals, health care providers, and the patient. These infections should never occur in a hospital setting,
During the last 15 years, there has been a major concern for the way infections are spread. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) created the My Five Moments for Hand Hygiene. According to the article the WHO defines, a moment of hand hygiene as "when there is a perceived or actual risk of pathogen transmission from one surface to another via the hands" (Winship, S. & McClunie-Trust, P., 2013 p. 19). The World Health Organization stated that hand hygiene should be performed before and after touching the patient, before aseptic procedures are started, after touching any surfaces around the patient, and contact with body
Infection prevention and control has become one of the growing advance practice professions in nursing. Preventable illnesses and the cost associated with treatment is the prime reason for the evolution of infection prevention (IP) as a speciality. This writer aspires to pursue a masters degree in infection prevention and control at American Sentinel University. As an advance practice professional, the infection prevention and control specialist must posses the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience established by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology Inc. (CBIC). Additionally,
Healthcare workers come in contact with so many different people every day they work. This includes patients, coworkers, and the general public who come in to visit. With all of this person to person contact, comes a high rate of infection if not properly dealt with. Preventing infection is one of the most important parts of a health care worker's job and they do it all day, every day.
Due to people in a hospital having a lowered immune system and/or a portal of entry that the infectious agent can enter through, because of this it is important for healthcare staff to continuously sterilize their hands and keep up with good hand hygiene practices so that they reduce the risk of spreading infectious material to people who have an already weakened immune system. This is important because in a hospital there is a great reservoir of infection and any microbes present in a hospital environment are more likely to have a greater resistance to anti-microbials as they are constantly used. (Centres for Disease control and Prevention 2012)
Day by day, various patients come into the office for their concerns. Therefore, there is an increase in risk of sicknesses due to the spread of germs. In order to minimize the risk of getting sick, family physicians must wear protective equipment when necessary. Examples of protective equipment used to prevent the spread of germs to a family physician include masks and gloves. These are important items to use when treating and caring for the patient, especially during an examination of a patient. Additionally, it is significant to practice hand washing since many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean water. By washing their hands after every patient or every examination, a family physician can prevent the spread of
The first study examined the spread of virus from a physician’s clothing to their hands following the de-gowning process. Test subjects were asked to gown out in full PPE, just as they would if they were examining an infected patient. The doctors were then “contaminated” with bacteriophage on various places of their PPE. The goal was then to de-gown while minimizing the amount of virus that was transferred to his/her hands. Their hands were then tested for viral contamination. As was expected, the results showed that significantly more virus contamination was seen on the hands of the test subjects following the single gloving test than was observed following the double gloving test. Additionally, less virus was transferred to the other PPE when doubling gloving was used. This was true for all parts of the PPE tested, aside from the few examples of improper de-gowning techniques. This lead to the conclusion the in order to provide the best protection from viral transfer, double gloving is more effective than the more common single gloving. Additionally, it was determin...
Hospital employed health care professionals are exposed to potential contaminants on a daily basis. This is especially true for employees who work directly with patients or those who visit patient care areas. Employees must practice the proper safeguards to avoid subjecting themselves or others to unnecessary illness. Hand hygiene is a general term that applies to hand washing, antiseptic hand wash, antiseptic hand rub, or surgical hand asepsis. Proper hand hygiene removes or destroys microorganisms on the hands. Facility approved hand hygiene products must be used to disinfect the hands. This policy addresses all employees, medical staff, contract employees, vendors, and any person that has contact with a patient. Hand hygiene is the single most important action in preventing and controlling infection in health facilities. Organisms transmitted on the hands of personnel may cause many types of infections. Personnel must decontaminate their hands before and after contact with any patient and at the beginning and end of their shift. Staff members are permitted to carry hospital-approved hand sanitizer in their pockets unless it is contradicted by their department policy. Our facility has established specific procedures for all inpatient and outpatient settings that health care workers must abide by. The procedure list is very detailed and describes all of the situations in which hand hygiene is necessary. Our policy also encompasses the guidelines for hand hygiene, which explains how to properly decontaminate hands and what to avoid. It also states that a supervisor should evaluate personnel if they have any hand problems such as open cuts, abrasions, dermatitis, or draining
Cross-contamination from a dental team to a patient (although it is a rare occurrence) can take place through: