EMPOWERING NURSING PROFESSIONALS IN ICU CARE
INFECTION MATTERS MOST
Dr.T.V.Rao MD Intensive care units are just not another area to care patients, but certainly everybody admitted are certainly suffering with an ailment of organ involvement and much of the seriously injured are put in intensive care units, the great and continuous visitor to these patients are microbes around the bed, environment the patient lodged, and on hands of those who care for them, however the nursing staff continue to be great care taker, the western world and developed countries have recognized nurses are champions of infection control and certainly recognized the nursing staff as most important persons to care the best to save many lives, however the role of Nursing is not well recognized in many regions of the developing countries and suffers higher number of patients die and morbid for longer times, The infection control field now has its own three-word maxim: vigilance, vigilance, vigilance it just means how much we are vigilant to implement, watch and take better decisions and follow basic principles of HAND WASHING
HOW THE PATIENTS DIFFER FROM OTHER PATIENTS IN HOSPITALS
And ICU patients, more than the general population of patients , may already be compromised by several elements:
Disease processes
Trauma
Interruption of normal defense mechanisms (by mechanical ventilation, etc.)
Malnutrition due to the inability to eat and needs the help to be fed.
The inability to ambulate and lesser mobility liable for bed sores which unpredictable outcomes
PATENTS IN ICU ARE PREDISPOSED FOR INFECTIONS - the difference between infection control in ICUs vs. the wards is one of degree. "Patients in the ICU are severely ill and often bed-ridden," "They also tend to have many invasive devices such as Foley catheters to measure output, central lines for fluids and monitoring, arterial lines to measure pressures, endotracheal tubes for assisted ventilation, etc., that patients in other parts of the hospital don't have. The presence of an invasive device automatically increases the risk of infection because it provides a ready means of entry by bacteria into a normally clean space CARING MOST CRITICALLY ILL WITH IMMUNE SUPPRESSION
The segment of potentially immune compromised patients. "Oncology is much the same as the ICU setting, except that the patients tend to have fewer invasive devices (they rarely have Foley's; they are rarely intubated unless critically ill; all have central lines of some sort. "However, many oncology patients have altered neutrophil counts, which directly impacts the body's ability to fight off infection. Oncology patients are particularly prone to infection with opportunistic organisms, or organisms that are ubiquitous in the environment but cause problems in severely immuno compromised patients, like Aspergillus, other molds and fungi and certain viruses like cytomegalovirus, herpes virus, etc. This is one reason stem cell/bone marrow transplant units have special ventilation systems (all the rooms are at positive pressure, so the air flows from the room into the hall). This is specifically designed to keep airborne pathogens out of the patient rooms."
Hand washing - ICU patients' severe illnesses and injuries necessitate much more hands-on care than in normal wards, although these patients can be particularly susceptible to infections, hand hygiene guidelines remain the same everywhere there are more situations requiring good hand hygiene on the part of HCWs with either soap/water or alcohol based product. I believe some researchers have found that the busier staff are, the more likely they are to not wash their hands when they should, which again increases the potential for person-to-person transmission." "The use of alcohol-based waterless products can improve adherence with hand hygiene practices due to ease of use and less time required for effective disinfection."
." Next who manages these devices and major matters in control of infections IT IS JUST NON- OTHER THAN OUR NURSING STAFF, THE QUESTIONS REAMIN ARE WE TRAINING THEM TO BE THE REAL EXPERTS IN DEALING THE MATTERS
Ref Infection Control in the ICU: The Final Frontier By Kathy Dix
The CDC has numerous recommendations for preventing hospital-acquired infections. A complete list is available at www.cdc.gov.
Dr.T.V.Rao MD
Can be reached at doctortvrao@hotmail.com
WhatsApp +91828169524
INFECTION MATTERS MOST
Dr.T.V.Rao MD Intensive care units are just not another area to care patients, but certainly everybody admitted are certainly suffering with an ailment of organ involvement and much of the seriously injured are put in intensive care units, the great and continuous visitor to these patients are microbes around the bed, environment the patient lodged, and on hands of those who care for them, however the nursing staff continue to be great care taker, the western world and developed countries have recognized nurses are champions of infection control and certainly recognized the nursing staff as most important persons to care the best to save many lives, however the role of Nursing is not well recognized in many regions of the developing countries and suffers higher number of patients die and morbid for longer times, The infection control field now has its own three-word maxim: vigilance, vigilance, vigilance it just means how much we are vigilant to implement, watch and take better decisions and follow basic principles of HAND WASHING
HOW THE PATIENTS DIFFER FROM OTHER PATIENTS IN HOSPITALS
And ICU patients, more than the general population of patients , may already be compromised by several elements:
Disease processes
Trauma
Interruption of normal defense mechanisms (by mechanical ventilation, etc.)
Malnutrition due to the inability to eat and needs the help to be fed.
The inability to ambulate and lesser mobility liable for bed sores which unpredictable outcomes
PATENTS IN ICU ARE PREDISPOSED FOR INFECTIONS - the difference between infection control in ICUs vs. the wards is one of degree. "Patients in the ICU are severely ill and often bed-ridden," "They also tend to have many invasive devices such as Foley catheters to measure output, central lines for fluids and monitoring, arterial lines to measure pressures, endotracheal tubes for assisted ventilation, etc., that patients in other parts of the hospital don't have. The presence of an invasive device automatically increases the risk of infection because it provides a ready means of entry by bacteria into a normally clean space CARING MOST CRITICALLY ILL WITH IMMUNE SUPPRESSION
The segment of potentially immune compromised patients. "Oncology is much the same as the ICU setting, except that the patients tend to have fewer invasive devices (they rarely have Foley's; they are rarely intubated unless critically ill; all have central lines of some sort. "However, many oncology patients have altered neutrophil counts, which directly impacts the body's ability to fight off infection. Oncology patients are particularly prone to infection with opportunistic organisms, or organisms that are ubiquitous in the environment but cause problems in severely immuno compromised patients, like Aspergillus, other molds and fungi and certain viruses like cytomegalovirus, herpes virus, etc. This is one reason stem cell/bone marrow transplant units have special ventilation systems (all the rooms are at positive pressure, so the air flows from the room into the hall). This is specifically designed to keep airborne pathogens out of the patient rooms."
Hand washing - ICU patients' severe illnesses and injuries necessitate much more hands-on care than in normal wards, although these patients can be particularly susceptible to infections, hand hygiene guidelines remain the same everywhere there are more situations requiring good hand hygiene on the part of HCWs with either soap/water or alcohol based product. I believe some researchers have found that the busier staff are, the more likely they are to not wash their hands when they should, which again increases the potential for person-to-person transmission." "The use of alcohol-based waterless products can improve adherence with hand hygiene practices due to ease of use and less time required for effective disinfection."
." Next who manages these devices and major matters in control of infections IT IS JUST NON- OTHER THAN OUR NURSING STAFF, THE QUESTIONS REAMIN ARE WE TRAINING THEM TO BE THE REAL EXPERTS IN DEALING THE MATTERS
Ref Infection Control in the ICU: The Final Frontier By Kathy Dix
The CDC has numerous recommendations for preventing hospital-acquired infections. A complete list is available at www.cdc.gov.
Dr.T.V.Rao MD
Can be reached at doctortvrao@hotmail.com
WhatsApp +91828169524
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