Hospital Acquired Infections Flashcards
What does Sterility mean?
Absolute state of TOTAL absence of micro-organisms
What is Sterilisation?
The Process of micro-organisms being killed off a product
What are 4 Examples of Natural non-specific defence mechanisms?
Unbroken skin
Stomach acid
Tears (antimicrobial enzyme)
Muco-ciliary clearance from Lungs
What 3 things need to be Sterile?
Parenteral products
Opthalmic preparations
Products applied to broken or burnt skin
What is the Modern test used to detect Pyrogen?
LAL test
What is Pyrogen?
An agent caused by bacteria that causes fever (high temp)
What is the aim when sterilisation takes place?
To minimise Bioburden
What is Bioburden?
Total load of micro-organisms present in the product to be sterilised
What is the Sterilisation aim for Bioburden?
Reduce to 10-6 (1 in 1 million is positive i.e 99.9%) organisms per container
How can you workout the length of the Sterilisation process?
Work out if you know the Bioburden and the D-Value of an organism
What is the D-Value?
Time taken at a fixed temperature to achieve a 90% reduction in the micro-organism population
What are Alcohol handrubs and gels NOT effective against?
Clostridium difficle spores
