Page 153 - Assurance of Sterility for Sensitive Combination Products and Materials

CHAPTER 6

Review of current practice in

preventing health care associated

infections

Donna Swenson a
AAMI, Arlington, VA, United States

Contents
6.1 Introduction 135
6.2 Background in HAIs 136
6.3 Assessment of risk 137
6.3.1 Identifying HAIs 138
6.3.2 Assessing the burden/impact of HAIs 138
6.4 Causes of HAIs 139
6.4.1 Patient-related factors 141
6.4.2 Procedural-related characteristics 145
6.5 Preventing HAIs 149
6.5.1 Who safe surgery saves lives initiative 149
6.5.2 Behavior 150
6.5.3 Transmission-based isolation precautions 151
6.5.4 Procedural interventions 153
6.5.5 Engineering solutions—HCFs 155
6.6 Conclusion 162
References 162

6.1 Introduction
Health-care-associated infections (HAIs) are a major global problem and
can be caused by many factors including: improper cleaning, inadequate
sterilization, and improper handling of medical devices. It is difficult to
determine the cause of an HAI because the infections are diagnosed days
after the procedure. There is, however, growing evidence that improper
health-care professional practices play a significant factor in the occurrence

a Independent expert in medical device sterilization.

Assurance of Sterility for Sensitive Combination Products and Materials © 2020 Elsevier Inc.
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-805082-8.00006-2 All rights reserved. 135