What does cross infection mean?

I believe that most people know that bacteria can reproduce and multiply through different parasites. There are actually bacteria everywhere on people's faces, hands, clothes and bodies, but people just can't see them. However, if two objects carrying different pathogens come into contact with each other, it is possible that the bacteria on the two objects will be exchanged, which is also called cross-infection. Let’s take a look at what cross-infection means.

Cross-infection in hospitals is a factor that directly affects a series of hospital quality and efficiency indicators, including medical care quality, bed utilization, bed turnover, funding expenditure, and drug consumption. Therefore, preventing cross infection in hospitals will be beneficial to improving hospital management.

Factors causing cross infection in hospitals:

1. Air pollution. Air pollution mainly causes cross-infection of the respiratory tract.

(ii ) Contamination of medical devices: mainly cross-infection caused by contaminated medical devices through damage to the skin and mucous membranes.

1. Urinary catheter: Urinary catheterization is common in the process of rescuing critically ill patients. When the urinary catheter is left in place for too long, it is more likely to cause infection.

2. Intravenous injection and intravascular examination equipment: They mainly cause blood infection through venous puncture, which may cause phlebitis at a mild level and sepsis at a severe level. Infection is more likely to occur during venous incision, which is particularly prone to occur. The incidence of hepatitis B is currently high, and contaminated injection equipment can easily cause cross infection.

3. Respiratory system examination, treatment equipment and anesthesia equipment: Infection is mainly caused by direct contact. Common equipment include: pressurized respirators, anesthesia equipment, nebulizer inhalers, lung function test equipment, etc. There is a large amount of evidence that some respiratory therapy devices facilitate the growth of Gram-negative bacteria, which contaminate the inhaled air and bring bacteria to the alveoli to cause infection.

4. Surgical instruments (including obstetric instruments): Once surgical instruments are positive, they are most likely to cause cross infection. A hospital in our province once caused many patients to have surgical infections, resulting in serious consequences, because high-pressure disinfection did not meet the requirements.

(III) Contamination of objects that patients come into contact with: This mainly refers to contamination of objects that come into contact with infectious diseases. In addition to the medical devices mentioned above, there are also paper items, cloth items, rubber products, toilets, spittoons, etc.

1. Paper items: In hospitals, paper items are the second most polluted item after air pollution. Such as prescriptions, test reports, medical records, various application forms, meal tickets, letters, books and newspapers, etc., can not only cause cross infection in the hospital, but also affect the society. In particular, diseases such as hepatitis and dysentery can often cause cross infection through this channel.

2. Cloth items: They are one of the main items that come into direct contact with patients in the hospital, such as bed sheets for outpatient diagnosis beds, dressings for changing clothes, bedding for inpatients, various treatment towels in the operating room, and towels, handkerchiefs, shoes, socks, clothes and hats brought by patients themselves. Contamination can occur through direct contact or through the patient's secretions, excretions, or vomit, causing cross infection. Therefore, it can not only cause cross-infection of digestive tract infectious diseases, but also cross-infection of respiratory tract infectious diseases.

3. Rubber products: mainly medical gloves, infusion rubber strips, etc. The leather strips used to tie the limbs for venous puncture are rarely strictly sterilized. After being used on one patient, the same strip is immediately used on another patient, and this process is repeated with almost no disinfection measures.

Sputum cups and toilet bowls: They are in direct contact with the patient's excrement and may become contaminated. If they are not disinfected properly, cross infection may occur.