NCLEX Review: Infections Module
Welcome back to BrainyNurses.com weekly NCLEX Review, where for this week is we will talk about our infections module. We hope that you are having an effective review for the big test, and have many resources available to help you.
Patient safety and infection control are essential and vital components of quality nursing care. A nurse’s ability to think critically and use this knowledge in the delivery of nursing care is essential to the well being of the patients.
The topics covered from the infections module include disorders, the side effects of anti-infectives, temperature control, and Tier 1 infection precautions.
Disorders
There are many terms that are commonly related to infections.
- Community Acquired Infection is an infection which a person is exposed to in their living environment
- Health care associated (nosocomial) infection are those that are acquired in a hospital or any other health care facility
- Opportunistic infection are infections that primarily occur in the immunocompromised
- Latrogenic infection refers to a complication from a procedure such as a central line infection
- Super infection is a new or secondary infection that occurs during the administration of an antimicrobial. They occur due to suppression of normal flora during treatment for an infection and are often drug-resistant organisms, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, candida or C. difficile
The types of infections that must be discussed and considered during your NCLEX review are located in the above infogaphic. In our video series and accompanying textbook, they are discussed thoroughly to help learn the facts that you need for the NCLEX.
- Bacterial
- Viral
- Fungal Infection
- Lyme Disease
- Dermatitis
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
- Acne
- Toxic Shock Syndrome
- HIV/AIDS
Anti-Infectives and Potential Side Effects
The flashcard below shows all the potential side effects that your patients may experience during the course of medication. The NCLEX will require you to know these potential side effects and if they can be mitigated.
We will discuss two of these potential side effects in greater detail
Nausea, Vomiting and Diarrhea
- Occurs with many of the antibiotics especially when they are taken orally. If this occurs, giving the medication with meals, unless contraindicated, may help the symptoms.
- The development of diarrhea with any antibiotic may be an indication of a super infection or pseudomembranous colitis.
- With pseudomembranous colitis, the stool tests positive or becomes bloody and could be life threatening. The primary care provider should be notified. A concern with Clindamycin (Cleocin) (a lincosamide), cephalosporins, penicillins and fluroquinolones.
Blood Dyscrasias
- Sulfonamides are implicated in blood dyscrasias.
- Agranulocytosis: Insufficient number of white blood cells including neutrophils eosinophils and basophils.
- Aplastic anemia: A serious condition where the bone marrow does not produce enough red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets.
- Hemolytic anemia: Condition where the red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be produced.
- Thrombocytopenia: Low levels of platelets leading to a decreased ability to clot.
- Penicillin, cephalosporins, antivirals and antifungals can cause bone marrow suppression.
- Linezolid (Zyvox) may cause thrombocytopenia.
Clinical Correlation: Temperature Control
The nurse must act quickly to reduce the patient’s temperature. Heat exhaustion can occur when the patient has a temperature between 103 to 105° with heat stroke occurring when the core temperature is greater than 105°.
To treat the patient, the following steps can be taken:
- Aggressive cooling
- Ice water lavage
- Cool compresses groin, axilla, neck and head
- Prevent dysrhythmias and acidosis
- Avoid aspirin or acetaminophen because they are not effective
- Benzodiazepines to prevent seizures
- Decrease cerebral edema
- Mannitol (Osmitrol)
- Methylprednisolone (Solu-Medrol)
Standard Infection Precautions
This is the final topic that we will talk about during this review of the infections module.
Standard (Tier 1) infection precautions should be applied by the nursing during their course of taking care of the patient. The Tier 2 precautions are much more aggressive and applied when there is a greater chance for transmission.
The Tier 1 precaution that you need to know for the NCLEX are listed below and shown on the flashcard.
- Hand hygiene.
- PPE when contact with secretions or blood.
- Use masks and eye protection if droplets may be dispersed such as suctioning or if the patient is coughing.
- Do not recap needles.
- Respiratory hygiene such as using mouth piece for resuscitation.
- Refrain from direct patient care if the health care worker has an open skin lesion.
We hope that you have gotten a lot of useful information from this review of the infections module.
This will help you in your NCLEX preparation and to improve your capabilities as a nurse. Thank you for helping us to spread the word of the Online NCLEX Review from BrainyNurses.com, and we hope that you stay with us after becoming certified for your continuing education needs.
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