Question

1. You are a nurse caring for a 73-year-old farmer who was brought to your emergency department via ambulance after she fell while caring for her chickens. The external rotation of her left foot indicates the high likelihood that she fractured her hip with the fall. As you prepare her for surgery, you note that the health care provider has ordered the insertion of a urinary catheter. (Learning Objectives 1, 3, and 4)

1. Outline measures you would take to prevent infectious agents from being introduced during her catheter insertion.
2. List potential reservoirs for infection that could contaminate this procedure.
3. How does correctly utilizing sterile technique impact the cycle of infection?
4. Describe how violation of sterile technique could introduce pathogens in this procedure.
5. Indicate the factors that would make your patient a susceptible host to infection.

Answer 1

Answer a: To prevent the infectious agents from being introduced during catheter insertion some of the measures should be taken such as:

• Using the surgical asepsis method in the insertion of the catheter.
• Wearing the surgical gloves is important to avoid infection.
• Patient should be explained about personal hygiene.
• The nurse should be able to encourage patient to avoid contamination.
• Proper disposal of the bed linen.

(b) The potential reservoirs for infection that could contaminate this procedure are:

• The tube of the Catether.
• The dirty bedsheets.
• Unsterilized equipments.
• Moisture.

(C) The correctly utilizing sterile technique impact the cycle of infection as it wouldn't let the accumulation of the microbes on the site of injection. It also reduces the contamination.. Sterile products are free from microbes so it wouldn't lead to increase the infection. By using correctly sterile techniques, the entry portal for the microbes will be blocked.

(d) It will increase the risk of microbial contamination. It also increases potential for bacterial growth. If the infection increases, it would lead to severe complications.