Inglés para Control de Infecciones

"standard precautions"

A minimum set of infection prevention practices applied to the care of all patients, regardless of suspected or confirmed infection status, treating blood, body fluids, and non-intact skin as potentially infectious

"The ward manager reminded staff that standard precautions must be applied with every patient contact, not only when an infection is known."

"hand hygiene"

The act of cleaning the hands using soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub to remove or kill pathogens and prevent their transmission

"The five moments of hand hygiene were displayed at each bedside to prompt correct compliance from all clinical staff."

"alcohol-based hand rub"

A liquid, gel, or foam preparation containing alcohol that is used on hands to kill most microorganisms without requiring water or towels

"Dispensers of alcohol-based hand rub were mounted at the entrance to every bay following the hospital's infection prevention upgrade."

"personal protective equipment"

Specialised clothing or equipment worn by healthcare workers to protect themselves and patients from the transmission of infectious agents

"Nurses donned personal protective equipment, including gloves, apron, and surgical mask, before entering the isolation room."

"sharps safety"

Practices and devices designed to prevent needlestick injuries and cuts from used needles, scalpels, and other sharp instruments

"The trust's sharps safety policy mandated the use of safety-engineered devices to reduce the risk of needlestick injury."

"respiratory hygiene"

Measures to reduce the spread of respiratory infections, including covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and disposing of tissues promptly

"Signage in the waiting area promoted respiratory hygiene by asking patients to wear a mask if they had a cough or cold."

"environmental cleaning"

The regular decontamination of patient care areas, equipment, and surfaces to reduce the burden of microorganisms in the healthcare environment

"Enhanced environmental cleaning schedules were introduced in the outbreak ward to include twice-daily disinfection of all high-touch surfaces."

"safe injection practice"

A set of measures to prevent the transmission of infection during the preparation and administration of injections, including using sterile equipment for each patient

"An investigation found that failures in safe injection practice had contributed to transmission of hepatitis C in the endoscopy unit."

"contact precautions"

Additional infection prevention measures used for patients known or suspected to be infected with pathogens that can be transmitted by direct or indirect contact

"Contact precautions were implemented for all patients colonised with MRSA, requiring gloves and apron for every patient interaction."

"droplet precautions"

Measures used when a patient is known or suspected to have a respiratory infection transmitted by large respiratory droplets, typically requiring a surgical mask and eye protection

"Staff were instructed to apply droplet precautions when caring for patients admitted with suspected influenza."

"airborne precautions"

The most stringent respiratory isolation measures, used for pathogens that remain infectious over long distances or in small airborne particles, requiring a negative-pressure room and an FFP3 respirator

"The patient with confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis was placed on airborne precautions in a single side room with an en-suite facility."

"negative pressure room"

An isolation room in which air pressure is maintained lower than that of the surrounding areas so that potentially contaminated air flows inward rather than outward

"The respiratory unit has four negative pressure rooms reserved for patients requiring airborne isolation."

"protective isolation"

Reverse isolation measures used to shield severely immunocompromised patients from environmental pathogens rather than to prevent transmission from the patient to others

"Bone marrow transplant recipients were nursed in protective isolation with filtered air supply and a strict visitor policy."

"cohort nursing"

The practice of grouping patients infected or colonised with the same organism together in one area, and assigning dedicated staff to care for them, to limit cross-transmission

"When single rooms were exhausted, the IPC team authorised cohort nursing for the norovirus outbreak patients in bay three."

"doffing procedure"

The controlled sequence of steps for safely removing contaminated personal protective equipment to avoid self-contamination

"All staff received practical training on the doffing procedure before being deployed to the COVID-19 high-risk ward."

"FFP3 respirator"

A filtering facepiece respirator that achieves the highest European filtration standard, filtering at least 99% of airborne particles, used for aerosol-generating procedures

"An FFP3 respirator, rather than a standard surgical mask, is required during bronchoscopy because the procedure generates aerosols."

"healthcare-associated infection"

An infection acquired in a healthcare setting that was not present or incubating at the time of admission, affecting patients, staff, or visitors

"The trust's healthcare-associated infection rate fell by 18% after implementation of the revised catheter care bundle."

"meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus"

A strain of Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to meticillin and most other beta-lactam antibiotics, a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections

"The patient was screened for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on admission because of a previous stay in a long-term care facility."

"Clostridioides difficile"

A spore-forming bacterium that causes antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and colitis, often acquired in healthcare settings, also known as C. diff

"Clinicians were reminded that Clostridioides difficile spores are not destroyed by alcohol gel and that handwashing with soap and water is required after contact."

"carbapenem-resistant organism"

A bacterium that has acquired resistance to carbapenem antibiotics, representing a significant public health threat due to limited treatment options

"The laboratory notified the IPC team immediately upon identification of a carbapenem-resistant organism in the urine sample from the ITU patient."

"catheter-associated urinary tract infection"

A urinary tract infection arising in a patient who has or recently had an indwelling urinary catheter, one of the most common types of healthcare-associated infection

"Daily review of catheter necessity reduced catheter-associated urinary tract infections by 30% on the surgical ward within six months."

"central-line-associated bloodstream infection"

A primary bloodstream infection in a patient who had a central venous catheter at the time of or within 48 hours before infection onset

"Strict aseptic insertion technique and daily line assessment are key to preventing central-line-associated bloodstream infections in the ICU."

"surgical site infection"

An infection that occurs at or near the surgical incision within 30 days of a procedure, or within one year if an implant was placed

"The orthopaedic department introduced pre-operative decolonisation therapy to reduce the risk of surgical site infection after joint replacement."

"ventilator-associated pneumonia"

A type of lung infection that develops in patients who are on mechanical ventilation through a breathing tube for more than 48 hours

"Elements of the care bundle to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia include head-of-bed elevation and daily sedation holds."

"sterilisation"

A process that destroys or eliminates all forms of microbial life including spores, typically applied to surgical instruments and implants

"All reusable surgical instruments undergo sterilisation by steam under pressure in the central sterile services department."

"high-level disinfection"

A decontamination process that destroys all vegetative bacteria, mycobacteria, fungi, and viruses, but not necessarily all bacterial spores, used for semi-critical items

"Flexible endoscopes require high-level disinfection between patient uses because they contact mucous membranes."

"thermal disinfection"

The use of heat — typically hot water — to kill microorganisms on equipment, often used in automated washer-disinfectors for bedpans and utensils

"The bedpan washer delivers thermal disinfection by maintaining a temperature of 80°C for one minute during the final rinse cycle."

"chemical disinfectant"

A substance that destroys or inactivates microorganisms on inanimate surfaces, selected according to the spectrum of activity required and the material to be treated

"A chlorine-based chemical disinfectant at 1000 ppm was used to decontaminate the environment after the C. difficile outbreak."

"Spaulding classification"

A system that categorises medical devices into critical, semi-critical, and non-critical items based on the risk of infection associated with their use, guiding the level of decontamination required

"The policy uses the Spaulding classification to determine whether each piece of equipment requires sterilisation, high-level disinfection, or low-level cleaning."

"terminal cleaning"

A thorough decontamination of an entire patient room, including all surfaces and equipment, performed after a patient is discharged, transferred, or died

"Terminal cleaning of the side room included wiping all furniture, changing the curtains, and applying a hydrogen peroxide vapour treatment."

"hydrogen peroxide vapour"

A room decontamination technology that distributes vaporised hydrogen peroxide to achieve high-level disinfection of all exposed room surfaces, including those difficult to reach manually

"Hydrogen peroxide vapour decontamination was used after a case of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella was identified in the ICU bay."

"reprocessing"

The entire multi-step process of cleaning, disinfection or sterilisation, inspection, packaging, and storage required to make a reusable medical device safe for use on another patient

"Failures in endoscope reprocessing were linked to patient-to-patient transmission of infection during outbreaks at several hospitals."

"antimicrobial stewardship"

A coordinated programme to optimise the use of antimicrobials to improve patient outcomes, reduce the risk of adverse effects including resistance, and ensure cost-effective treatment

"The antimicrobial stewardship team reviews all patients on broad-spectrum antibiotics after 72 hours to assess the need for de-escalation."

"antimicrobial resistance"

The ability of microorganisms to resist the effects of antimicrobial agents, making standard treatments less effective and increasing the risk of prolonged illness

"The WHO lists antimicrobial resistance among the greatest threats to global health, food security, and development."

"de-escalation"

The practice of switching from a broad-spectrum antibiotic to a narrower-spectrum agent once the causative organism and its sensitivities are known

"De-escalation from meropenem to amoxicillin-clavulanate was recommended once culture results confirmed a fully sensitive E. coli."

"empirical therapy"

The initiation of antimicrobial treatment based on the most likely causative organisms before laboratory results are available

"Local guidelines recommend empirical therapy with co-amoxiclav for community-acquired pneumonia in otherwise healthy adults."

"antibiogram"

A summary of the susceptibility of bacterial isolates from a given institution or region to various antimicrobial agents, used to guide empirical prescribing decisions

"The microbiology department publishes an updated antibiogram each year to reflect current patterns of resistance in the hospital's patient population."

"minimum inhibitory concentration"

The lowest concentration of an antimicrobial agent that prevents visible growth of a microorganism, used to determine susceptibility or resistance

"The minimum inhibitory concentration result showed the pathogen was resistant to cefuroxime but susceptible to piperacillin-tazobactam."

"formulary restriction"

A policy that limits the prescribing of certain antimicrobials — typically broad-spectrum or reserve agents — to specific clinical indications or requires approval from a specialist

"Carbapenems are subject to formulary restriction and require prior authorisation from the infectious diseases team before dispensing."

"post-prescribing review"

A structured reassessment of an antimicrobial prescription after 48 to 72 hours, using clinical progress and laboratory results to decide whether to continue, change, or stop treatment

"The ward pharmacist conducts a post-prescribing review on all patients started on intravenous antibiotics to support timely IV-to-oral switch."

"outbreak"

The occurrence of cases of an infection in excess of what would normally be expected for a given time period and place, or the occurrence of two or more linked cases

"The IPC team declared an outbreak after three patients on the same ward developed diarrhoea and tested positive for norovirus within 48 hours."

"index case"

The first identified case in a cluster or outbreak, from which subsequent transmission may be traced

"Contact tracing traced the source of the MRSA outbreak back to the index case admitted from a care home the previous month."

"surveillance"

The ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data to guide public health action and evaluate the effectiveness of infection prevention measures

"Active surveillance of device-associated infections allowed the ICU to identify a rising trend in central-line infections before it reached outbreak level."

"root cause analysis"

A structured investigation method used to identify the underlying causes of an infection event or outbreak rather than simply addressing its immediate symptoms

"A root cause analysis of the catheter-related bloodstream infection cluster identified gaps in insertion technique training as a key contributing factor."

"contact tracing"

The process of identifying and following up with individuals who may have been exposed to a case of infection, to interrupt further transmission

"Public health officials conducted contact tracing after a patient with active tuberculosis was found to have attended the outpatient clinic on multiple occasions."

"incubation period"

The time between exposure to an infectious agent and the onset of symptoms, important for determining the likely source and timing of transmission

"Because the incubation period for norovirus is 12 to 48 hours, the team focused the investigation on what patients ate and whom they contacted on the day before symptoms began."

"point prevalence survey"

A one-day snapshot of the prevalence of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use across an institution or group of institutions, repeated periodically to track trends

"The national point prevalence survey found that 6.4% of inpatients had a healthcare-associated infection on the survey day."

"infection prevention and control link practitioner"

A ward-based or departmental healthcare worker trained to support and champion infection prevention activities as part of their normal role alongside specialist IPC professionals

"The infection prevention and control link practitioner fed back the results of the hand hygiene audit to her ward team at the monthly safety briefing."