The Importance of Aseptic Technique in Healthcare

Aseptic technique in health is used to refer to a set of procedures and practices that are done to prevent contamination form pathogens. The risk of infection can be minimized by application of strict rules in a particular setting such as laboratory, surgical rooms, and outpatient care centers (Suderman, R. 2016, 47).

The use of aseptic techniques in healthcare are importance as any other safety procedure. In healthcare aseptic techniques are used in:

Handling surgery equipment; all equipment used in surgery are supposed to be free from contamination of pathogens, otherwise, the patients undergoing surgery will be infected with deadly bacteria.

During birth, aseptic techniques are employed to prevent infection of the vaginal canal and the baby itself

Handling dialysis catheters and performing dialysis

Urinary catheter insertion

Performing any surgical procedures, and

Insertion of central intravenous of arterial lines among others

There are four different types of aseptic techniques. These include: barriers, patient and equipment preparation, environmental controls, and contact guidelines (Kanopy, 2015 and Stephens, C. 2017). 

Barriers

Utilization of barriers involves the use of different barriers to prevent transfer of pathogens from a worker to a patient environment. These barriers may include the use of sterile gloves, gowns, clean laboratory coats, face masks and spectacles.

Patient and equipment preparation

This type of technique involves the preparation of the patient and the equipment as follows: antiseptic skin preparation of the patient at the time of the procedure, sterile instruments and equipment, and sterile devices (Suderman, R. 2016, 47).

Environmental controls encompasses the control of entry of unauthorized personnel, unclean air and equipment. This can be done by; minimizing the traffic into and out of the operating rooms, keeping doors closed during the operative procedures and excluding unnecessary personnel during the procedures.

Contact guidelines

The guidelines sate that only sterile to sterile contacts are allowed and not sterile to non-sterile contacts.

The use of aseptic technique is beneficial in that it prevents introduction of pathogenic organisms, in sufficient quantities to cause infection, from being introduced to susceptible body sites by the hands of staff, surfaces or equipment. It also protects patients during invasive clinical procedures by utilizing infection prevention measures that minimize the presence of micro-organisms.

Despite the use of aseptic techniques, there arise complications during their applications. These include: catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), central line-associated bloodstream infections, and surgical site infections. CAUTIs are commonly caused by an indwelling catheter and the bacteria may enter the urinary tract via the catheter and multiply to cause infections.

The purpose of this experiment is to determine potential sources of contamination on laboratory instruments.

It is hypothesized that unclean hands will have the highest number of pathogens and thus will cause the most contamination on the lab instrument.

Results

Unwashed

Washed

Alcohol

Che

26

634

606

Ye hee

19

276

45

Yara

232

461

18

Felicia (MINE)

37

76

20

Ethan

304

683

78

Harrison

53

23

27

Mean

121

359

131

Interpretation

The results obtained from the average of the class show that washed hands contained more number of colonies followed by alcohol and then unwashed hands. However, the mean of the class does not coincide with my results. In my own results the hands washed with water had more colonies of pathogens than unwashed hands and those washed by alcohol.

The results are likely to mean that the water used to wash hands was contaminated with microorganisms. This is because the region where the washed fingers touched showed more colonies than any other part. Alcohol washed region had a smaller number of colonies because alcohol may have denatured the pathogens while unwashed hands had bacteria existing as the normal microflora of the body (Hill, A. 2015, 78).

The hypothesis that stated that unclean hands will have the highest number of pathogens and thus will cause the most contamination on the lab instrument was confirmed as not true. The major sources of contamination on lab equipment were determined. In this case, the greatest contribution to contamination was laboratory water, followed by unwashed hands of personnel, while alcohol washed hands were the least cause of contamination.

References

HILL, A. (2015). Brewing microbiology: managing microbes, ensuring quality and valorising waste.

KANOPY (FIRM). (2015). Aseptic Techniques: Principles and Techniques. http://[institution].kanopystreaming.com/node/63984.

STEPHENS, C. (2017). Aseptic techniques. Healthline. [Online] Available at < https://www.healthline.com/health/aseptic-technique> [Accessed 3 Nov. 2018]

SUDERMAN, R. (2016). Aseptic Nursing Technique in the OR. http://www.aspresolver.com/aspresolver.asp?MARC;3364919.