Why is asepsis important in the medical field

Hospital-acquired infection ». According to The Joint Commission , there are four chief aspects of the aseptic technique: barriers, patient equipment and preparation, environmental controls, and contact guidelines. Each plays an important role in infection prevention during a medical procedure. Barriers protect the patient from the transfer of pathogens from a healthcare worker, from the environment, or from both.

Some barriers used in aseptic technique include:. Sterile barriers are those that have not touched a contaminated surface.

Healthcare workers put them on or use them in specific ways that minimize exposure to germs. Healthcare providers also use sterile equipment and sterile instruments. Maintaining a sterile environment requires keeping doors closed during an operation. Only necessary health personnel should be at the procedure. The more people present, the more opportunities for harmful bacteria to cause contamination. Once healthcare providers have on sterile barriers, they should only touch other sterile items.

They should avoid touching nonsterile items at all costs. A common procedure that carries a risk for infection is inserting a urinary catheter. These catheters drain urine from the bladder and are associated with catheter-associated urinary tract infections CAUTIs.

When healthcare providers insert a catheter, they demonstrate all four aseptic techniques in action:. If even one part of the aseptic technique is missed during catheter insertion, the patient can easily get an infection. Keeping the environment as clean as possible is always important in preventing infections. However, some situations call for aseptic technique while others call for clean techniques. Healthcare providers learn both aseptic and clean techniques as part of their training.

The goal of the aseptic technique is to eliminate germs entirely. The goal of the clean technique is to reduce the number of germs whenever possible. Clean techniques are important for all healthcare providers and their patients because they prevent infections every day. Examples of clean techniques include washing hands and putting on clean gloves when needed. Hygiene habits for kids ». For example, you may need to change a dressing on a wound, and that requires a sterile dressing.

Touching key sites and key parts is limited, purposeful, and only when needed. Handling key parts only at the time needed to assemble or use in procedure Handling syringes away from the hub Applying bandages by the edges away from key parts that will contact key sites Sequencing Order of procedure requires planning to be efficient, logical, and safe.

Practicing guidelines give direction as to optimal order from preparation to completion. Use of Gloves and Sterile Gloves There are two different levels of medical-grade gloves available to health care providers: clean exam gloves and sterile surgical gloves.

Generally speaking, clean gloves are used whenever there is a risk of contact with body fluids or contaminated surfaces or objects. Examples include starting an intravenous access device or emptying a urinary catheter collection bag.

Alternatively, sterile gloves meet FDA requirements for sterilization and are used for invasive procedures or when contact with a sterile site, tissue, or body cavity is anticipated. Sterile gloves are used in these instances to prevent transient flora and reduce resident flora contamination during a procedure, thus preventing the introduction of pathogens. For example, sterile gloves are required when performing central line dressing changes, insertion of urinary catheters, and during invasive surgical procedures.

See Figure 4. The purposeful reduction of pathogen numbers while preventing microorganism transfer from one person or object to another. Techniques used to eliminate every potential microorganism in and around a sterile field while maintaining objects and areas as free from microorganisms as possible.

A key part is any sterile part of equipment used during an aseptic procedure, such as needle hubs, syringe tips, dressings, etc. A key site is the site contacted during an aseptic procedure, such as non-intact skin, a potential insertion site, or an access site used for medical devices connected to the patients.

Skip to content In addition to using standard precautions and transmission-based precautions, aseptic technique also called medical asepsis is the purposeful reduction of pathogens to prevent the transfer of microorganisms from one person or object to another during a medical procedure. Principles of Aseptic Non-Touch Technique Aseptic non-touch technique ANTT is the most commonly used aseptic technique framework in the health care setting and is considered a global standard.

ANTT includes four underlying principles to keep in mind while performing invasive procedures: A lways wash hands effectively. N ever contaminate key parts. T ouch non-key parts with confidence. T ake appropriate infective precautions. Preparing and Preventing Infections Using Aseptic Technique When planning for any procedure, careful thought and preparation of many infection control factors must be considered beforehand. Table 4. Ensure clean bed linens. Monitor patient lines that are near or across work areas.

Clean surfaces before establishing a work area. Ideally the equipment should be kept out of direct sunlight as this could also affect the packaging, as well as the quality of the sterile products of the equipment. It is also sensible to store the equipment in a manner that enables staff to locate it easily, preventing wasted time. Preparation of aseptic technique equipment before performing a procedure should be done in a clean area.

A suitable surface should be prepared, such as a dressing trolley or a procedure tray, by cleaning it with a detergent wipe or according to local policy Loveday et al, Ideally, preparation should be undertaken far enough away from hand washbasins to prevent droplets from the sink outlet contaminating the prepared equipment Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Each sterile package should be inspected to ensure the packaging is still intact with no visible damage; the expiry date must be checked to ensure the equipment is still in date Lloyd Jones, All equipment required should be gathered at this point and laid out in a manner to protect key parts using sterile packets, covers and caps Rowley et al, Alternatively, a sterile field can be created using a sterile dressing pack Lloyd Jones, It is important to inform the patient before undertaking any procedure and to obtain consent, allowing time to explain the specific procedure and to help reduce any anxieties the patient may have Royal College of Nursing, To reduce the risk from airborne dispersal of micro-organisms, the procedure area should be prepared by closing windows, turning off any fans that are in use and avoiding any bed making being undertaken in close proximity Lloyd Jones, A clean disposable apron provides an ideal barrier between potentially contaminated uniforms and the procedure, reducing any contamination that may arise from the procedure.

The decision as to whether single-use sterile or single-use non-sterile examination gloves should be worn, or whether gloves are required at all, should be based on a risk assessment NHMRC, ; Loveday et al, Single-use non-sterile gloves should be worn to protect the healthcare worker when there is a risk of contact with blood or body fluids during any procedure Loveday et al, Where there is a risk that key parts or key sites cannot be protected, for example, during urinary catheter insertion, sterile gloves should be worn NHMRC, ; Rowley et al, During the procedure, the sterile field needs to be maintained; this can be achieved by careful opening of the sterile packets to avoid contamination of the sterile equipment and the sterile surfaces of the inside packaging.

If a sterile dressing pack is being used, care should be taken to ensure that only the corners are used when opening out the sterile field. Carefully open any other sterile equipment and gently place it onto the sterile field, avoiding any contamination of the sterile surfaces of the equipment Lloyd Jones, At the end of the procedure, all waste must be disposed of in the appropriate waste stream bin, such as a healthcare waste bin.

Sharps, including needles, suture cutters, scissors and blades must be disposed of at the point of use in an approved sharps container Loveday et al, The remaining waste, including aprons and gloves, should be disposed of according to local policy Loveday et al, When all the waste has been disposed of safely and apron and gloves, if worn, have been removed hands should be decontaminated Loveday et al, Asepsis is an essential component of infection prevention and control practice to protect patients from potential HCAIs Loveday et al, All steps in a non-touch aseptic technique should be seen as an opportunity to reduce the transfer of pathogenic organisms.

Healthcare workers should be educated and trained in an aseptic technique that should include competency assessment Loveday et al, and should be considered a core competency for many nurses.

NICE guidance suggests that the ANTT framework provides a possible approach to standardised aseptic technique removing ambiguity and variance that allows a process for audit and assurance.

It is vitally important that nurses understand the principles of asepsis, and the ANTT framework may provide a way of implementing the principles. Tagged with: Coronavirus zone: infection prevention and control Newly qualified nurses: practical procedures.

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