Infection Control In Clinical Setting

INFECTION CONTROL IN CLINICAL SETTING

Prevention and control of infections are important concerns for all types of healthcare agencies and good infection control practices generate cost savings and improved outcomes for patients. Each department should have written policies and procedures for the control of infection.

Caregivers and support personnel must have mandatory educational updates on infection control.

Regulatory agencies

The national, state, regional agencies are involved in overseeing the institutional safety practices designed to protect patients, staff and community from infectious diseases. It is mandatory to report the infectious disease to the agencies. CDC and the JCAHO — these organizations publish the guidelines for monitoring and adhering to several infectious diseases control strategies. Like hand hygiene, the guidelines also focus on storage, cleaning and disinfection and use of equipment's and supplies.

Employee health

Monitoring and counselling of personnel:

•         Personal health and safety education lecture as part of the orientation process and annual basis.

•         Laboratory screening for high risk diseases and offer employees routine immunization programmes.

•         Prompt diagnosis and management of job related illnesses and provision of for prophylaxis of preventable diseases.

•         Counselling about infections for women of childbearing age. Pregnant nurses may not be allowed to case for patient have diseases that pose risks to fetus.

Transmissible disease:

•         Health care personnel are at risk for contracting infections diseases. Maintaining a current immunization status is a good health practice.

•         Employees who work at risk areas such as pediatric, dialysis, burn, or transplantation units are required to prove a current immunization status.

Significant exposures:

·         It is determined by the type and duration of exposure, with consideration of the mode of transmission, whether the host was susceptible, and whether precautions were taken.

·         If an employee contracts an infectious disease it must be reported to the health department.

             Percutaneous injuries:

·         Needle sticks, sharps injuries, cuts, punctures and percutaneous exposure incidents such splashes, all of which may transmit blood borne pathogens such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.

·         According WHO Two million health care workers across the world expose percutaneous exposure to infectious diseases.

·         Prevention of these injuries requires safe medical devices (needleless system), techniques changes to reduce handling of sharps and use of PPE.

·         In the past used needles are recapped, bent or broken.

·         In the present the practice is changed to puncture proof plastic units for sharp disposal after the use.

          Gloves:

•         Use of Gloves will be done when contact with the mucous membrane, non- intact skin and moist body surfaces.

•         Gloves must be discarded and reapplied between the patients or when moving from dirty to clean body surfaces.

Waste disposal:

According CDC hospital waste in general is no more infectious waste than residential waste.

The infectious waste should be incinerated or autoclaved before disposing of it in a sanitary land fill. The liquid body fluids (blood, urine, aspirated body fluids) down a drain connected to a sanitary sewer system.

Categories of institutional waste:

      Infectious waste:

·         Blood and blood products

·         Pathology specimens

·         Laboratory cultures

·         Body parts from surgery

·         Contaminated equipment's ( Dialysis materials suction receptacles)

Injuries Waste:

·         Needles

·         Scalpel blades

·         Lancets

·         Broken glass

·         Pipettes

·         Aerosol cans

Hazards Waste:

• Radioactive material
• Chemotherapy solution
• Caustic Chemicals