Download Unit 4: Infection Control Study Guide Answer Keys 7. Coagulate: To

Unit 4: Infection Control
Study Guide Answer Keys
VOCABULARY REVIEW
Define the following terms.
1. Anaphylaxis: An exaggerated hypersensitivity reaction that in severe cases leads to vascular
collapse, bronchospasm, and shock.
2. Antibody: An immunoglobulin produced by the immune system in response to bacteria, viruses, or
other antigenic substances.
3. Antigen: A foreign substance that causes the production of a specific antibody.
4. Antiseptic: Pertaining to substances that inhibit the growth of microorganisms on living tissue (e.g.,
alcohol and povidone-iodine solution [Betadine]).
5. Autoimmune: Pertaining to a disturbance in the immune system in which the body reacts against its
own tissue; examples of autoimmune disorders include multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and
systemic lupus erythematosus.
6. Contaminated: Soiled with pathogens or infectious material; nonsterile.
7. Coagulate: To form into clots.
8. Fomite: Contaminated, nonliving objects (e.g., examination room equipment) that can transmit
infectious organisms.
9. Germicides: Agents that destroy pathogenic organisms.
10. Interferon: A protein formed when a cell is exposed to a virus; the protein blocks viral action on the
cell and protects against viral invasion.
11. Palliative: A substance that relieves or alleviates the symptoms of a disease without curing the
disease.
12. Parenteral: The injection or introduction of substances into the body by any route other than the
digestive tract (e.g., subcutaneous, intravenous, or intramuscular administration).
13. Pathogenic: Referring to disease-causing microorganisms.
14. Permeable: Penetrable; material/substance that allows liquids/gases to pass through.
15. Relapse: Recurrence of the symptoms of a disease after the patient seemingly had recovered.
16. Remission: The partial or complete disappearance of the clinical and subjective characteristics of a
chronic or malignant disease.
17. Spores: A thick-walled, dormant form of bacteria that is very resistant to disinfection measures.
18. Urticaria: A skin eruption that creates inflamed wheals; hives.
19. Vector: Animal, usually an insect or tick, that transmits causative organisms of disease.
Match the following terms with the correct definition.
20. Disinfection: e
21. Medical asepsis: a
22. Surgical asepsis: c
23. Sanitization: d
24. Sterilization: b
Define the following terms as they relate to disease processes.
25. Chronic: A condition that persists for a long time, perhaps even a lifetime.
26. Latent: A condition that cycles through relapse and remission phases.
27. Acute: A condition that has a rapid onset and is of short duration.
SKILLS AND CONCEPTS
Part I: Short Answers
1. a. Nutrients: Pathogens thrive on contaminated surfaces and equipment. Most microbes need the
same nutrients we do—carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
b. Moisture: Microbes require moisture for cellular activities.
c. Temperature: Most pathogenic microbes flourish at body temperature (98.6° F [37° C]).
d. Oxygen: Some microbes, called aerobes, require oxygen to grow and multiply; others, called
anaerobes, thrive in environments without oxygen.
e. Neutral pH: pH refers to the acid-base level of a solution on a scale of 1 to 14, with 7 being
neutral. Most pathogens prefer a neutral pH for optimum growth.
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Unit 4: Infection Control
Study Guide Answer Keys
2. a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Viruses
Bacteria
Protozoa
Fungi
Rickettsiae
3. a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Reservoir host: 2
Entry (any body opening): 5
Transmission mode (air, food, hand, insects, body fluid): 4
Exit mode (mouth, skin, rectum, body fluid): 3
Susceptible host: 6
4. Answers should include:
• Intact skin serves as a natural barrier to disease.
• Mucous membranes lining the openings of the body help protect underlying tissues and trap
foreign substances.
• Tiny, hairlike projections, called cilia, line the respiratory tract and move in a coordinated upward
motion to expel trapped foreign substances.
• Trapped substances can be expelled with sneezing and coughing before the organisms invade
underlying tissue.
• Some body secretions, such as tears, have antimicrobial properties that help destroy invading
pathogens.
• The natural pH of many of the body’s organs discourages the growth of microbes. The acidic pH
of urine, the vaginal mucosa, and the stomach help prevent pathogenic invasion. The body’s
resident microbes create and maintain this environment.
5. Through the inflammatory response, the body prevents the invasion of microorganisms after trauma
or limits the number of these invaders. This process has four classic symptoms: erythema, pain,
edema, and heat. When cellular damage occurs, inflammatory mediators are released, which cause
blood vessels to dilate and become permeable and chemotaxis to occur; this brings more WBCs to
the site.
6. Humoral immunity creates specific antibodies to combat antigens; cell-mediated immunity attacks the
source of the infection at the cellular level.
7. a. Instruments are not thoroughly sanitized, and attached organic matter inhibits or prevents the
action of the disinfectant. No chemical can kill unless it reaches all instrument surfaces; therefore,
complete sanitization is absolutely necessary.
b. Sanitized instruments are not dried, and the moisture on the instruments dilutes the disinfectant
solution beyond the effective concentration.
c. A solution is left in an open container, and evaporation changes its concentration.
d. Solutions are not changed after the recommended period for use has expired.
e. Solutions are not prepared properly or not mixed properly before use.
f. The manufacturer’s recommended temperature for use and storage is not maintained.
8. a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Barrier protection devices
Environmental protection
Housekeeping controls
Hepatitis B immunizations
Postexposure follow-up
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Unit 4: Infection Control
Study Guide Answer Keys
9. Answers may include:
• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); synovial, pleural, pericardial, peritoneal, mucous, and amniotic fluids
• Liquid or semiliquid blood
• Vaginal and seminal secretions
• Saliva in dental procedures
• Body fluid visibly contaminated with blood
• Unknown body fluid
• Wound drainage
• Human tissue, including tissue culture, cells, or exudates
HIV has been isolated from CSF and synovial and amniotic fluids; hepatitis antigens have been
detected in synovial, amniotic, and peritoneal fluids.
10. Answers may include:
• Observe warning labels on biohazard containers and equipment.
• Minimize splashing or spraying of potentially infectious materials. Blood that splatters onto open
areas of the skin or mucous membranes is a proven mode of transmission of HBV.
• Bandage any breaks or lesions on your hands before gloving.
• If exposed body surfaces, such as the eyes, come into contact with body fluids, flush with water
and/or scrub with soap and water as soon as possible using an eye wash unit.
• Contaminated needles and other sharps should never be recapped, bent, broken, or resheathed.
Needle units are now required to have sliding shields or some other protective device for use
after injection.
• Reusable sharps that are contaminated should not be processed in a way that requires
employees to reach into containers to grasp them.
• Immediately after use, dispose of syringes and needles, scalpel blades, and other sharp items in
a labeled, leakproof, puncture-resistant biohazard container. The container must be located as
close as possible to the area where the instruments are used.
• All specimens must be placed in a container that prevents leakage during collection, handling,
processing, storage, transport, and shipping. Avoid contaminating the outside of the container or
the label with the specimen substance. If the outside is contaminated, the container should be
disinfected. One method is to use a 1:10 dilution of sodium hypochlorite and water (household
chlorine bleach) and place the container in a leakproof bag for transport. The container must have
a biohazard label that alerts others it holds potentially infectious material. Gloves should be worn
throughout this procedure.
• Mouth pipeting (the sucking of blood through tubing) is prohibited.
• Contaminated test materials should be decontaminated before reprocessing or should be placed
in impervious bags and disposed of according to policy.
• Equipment that has been contaminated with blood or body fluids should be decontaminated
before being repaired in the office or transported for repair. There is no documented evidence of
HIV transmission from contaminated environmental surfaces, but surface contamination is a
proven mode of transmission for HBV.
• Smoking, eating, drinking, applying cosmetics or lip balm, and handling contact lenses are
prohibited in work areas that have a reasonable likelihood of contamination from pathogens.
• Food and beverages cannot be kept in refrigerators, freezers, cabinets or on countertops where
infectious materials could be present.
11. √ Assisting with a vaginal examination
√ Performing a routine urinalysis
Measuring a patient’s temperature, pulse, and respirations
Performing a patient interview
√ Drawing blood from a 6-year-old child
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Unit 4: Infection Control
Study Guide Answer Keys
CASE STUDIES
1. a. Erythema
b. Edema
c. Pain
d. Heat
4. Answers should include:
• The employee should immediately wash or flush the exposed area.
• The employee should immediately report the incident to the supervisor.
• The employee should receive a confidential medical evaluation. The physician caring for the
exposed employee must receive written details regarding the exposure incident, including the
route and circumstances surrounding the incident. All documentation related to the exposure
must remain confidential, not disclosed to any individual without the employee’s express written
permission, and kept for at least the duration of the worker’s employment plus 30 years.
• An incident report must be filed that documents the details surrounding the exposure incident, the
route or type of exposure, and the identity, if known, of the source individual. The source
individual is the person, living or dead, whose blood or potentially infectious material was the
source of the occupational exposure.
• The source individual, if known, is immediately screened for HBV and HIV. State law determines
whether the employee may be told the results of the source individual’s tests.
• The exposed employee is tested for HBV and HIV if consent is given. If the employee refuses the
tests but blood is drawn, the sample must be stored for 90 days for the worker to decide whether
screening is wanted.
• If the employee has not been vaccinated against HBV, vaccination is offered.
• The employee must receive a copy of the healthcare provider’s written opinion within 15 days of
completion of the evaluation.
• The employee must receive health counseling regarding the risk of illness or other adverse
outcomes of exposure and the potential for, as well as consequences of, transmission of the
disease to family, patients, and others.
5. Answers should include:
• While hand washing, explain to the patient that this routine is part of daily hygiene and is
particularly important for patients who are very young or old or who seem to get sick frequently.
Discuss with the patient that hands should be washed before and after meals; after sneezing,
coughing, or nose blowing; after using the bathroom; before and after changing a dressing; and
after changing an infant’s diaper.
• Explain to the patient how using disposable tissues to cover the nose and mouth when coughing
or sneezing reduces the possibility of transmitting illness between household members.
• Discuss proper ways of disposing of used tissues, especially when a member of the household is
suspected of having a communicable disease.
• Instruct the patient about the differences between sterile and clean dressings and bandages.
Show him or her step-by-step how to change a dressing properly and then how to dispose of the
contaminated items.
• Set up an information table in the waiting room with take-home pamphlets and literature.
• Mail a periodic newsletter to patients about infection control, especially during flu season.
• Demonstrate and explain aseptic procedures to patients and/or family members, inviting them to
participate.
• Antiseptics are substances that inhibit the growth of microorganisms on living tissues.
Disinfectants are liquid chemicals capable of eliminating many or all pathogens, but not effective
against bacterial spores.
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Unit 4: Infection Control
Study Guide Answer Keys
WORKPLACE APPLICATION OPTIONS
1. a. PPE
b. Training
c. Medical surveillance
d. Hepatitis B vaccination
e. Record keeping for workplace injuries
f. Labeling hazardous materials
g. Engineering controls
2. Hypersensitivity reactions to latex gloves or the powder that lines them may be localized, causing
urticaria, dermatitis, conjunctivitis, and rhinitis; they also may be systemic reactions, manifesting as
asthmatic reactions or an anaphylactic response. OSHA’s guidelines require healthcare workers to
wear gloves. If an employee is allergic to latex, the employer must provide the proper gloves to
enable the person to perform his or her job duties.
3. a. When touching a patient’s blood and body fluids, mucous membranes, or skin that is
intact
b. When handling items and surfaces contaminated with blood and body fluids
c. When performing venipuncture, finger sticks, injections, and other vascular procedures
d. When cleaning
e. When handling, processing, and disposing of all specimens of blood and body fluids
f. When decontaminating spills of blood or other body fluids.
not
4. The hands must be washed using the correct technique before and after each patient is examined or
treated and when stipulated by the Bloodborne Pathogens Guidelines. A lengthy scrub is not
necessary each time, but the first scrub in the morning should be extensive, lasting 2 to 4 minutes.
Subsequent handwashing may be brief unless the hands are excessively contaminated. Proper
handwashing depends on two factors, running water and friction.
5. Review Procedure 27-4 on pages 513-514 in your textbook. Document your response in your MA
Blog.
6. Review Procedure 27-2 on page 208 in your textbook. Document your response in your MA Blog.
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