CIC (Irrigation Association Certifications) flashcards
CIC · Build recall with a focused review session.
33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Chain of infection links
- Six sequential links: infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, susceptible host. Infection prevention breaks at least one link to stop transmission.
- Standard precautions scope
- Hand hygiene, gloves, gown, mask, eye protection, and safe injection practices applied to every patient regardless of suspected or confirmed infection status, using risk assessment for the task.
- MacConkey agar purpose
- Selective and differential medium containing bile salts and crystal violet that inhibits gram-positive organisms; lactose fermenters such as E. coli form pink colonies, nonfermenters remain colorless.
- IgM versus IgG serology
- IgM suggests recent or acute infection and appears early; IgG indicates past infection or immunity and rises later. Paired sera showing a fourfold IgG rise support acute infection.
- Notifiable disease reporting
- State and local health departments mandate reporting of specified conditions by laboratories and providers within set timeframes; requirements and lists vary by jurisdiction and are legally binding.
- Incidence versus prevalence
- Incidence counts new cases during a period divided by the population at risk. Prevalence counts all existing cases at a point or period divided by the total population.
- Attack rate formula
- Number of cases divided by number exposed, multiplied by 100. In outbreaks it compares illness among exposed and unexposed groups to identify the source.
- Case definition tiers
- Confirmed requires laboratory evidence; probable requires clinical criteria plus an epidemiologic link; suspected requires clinical criteria alone. Tiers standardize case finding during investigations.
- Epidemic curve patterns
- Point source shows one sharp peak within a single incubation period; continuous common source shows a plateau; propagated spread shows successive peaks roughly one incubation period apart.
- Standardized infection ratio
- Observed healthcare-associated infections divided by the number predicted from a national risk-adjusted baseline. A value below 1.0 means fewer infections than predicted.
- Device-day denominator
- Central line-days, ventilator-days, and urinary catheter-days normalize infection rates by device exposure, allowing valid comparison across units and hospitals of differing size and acuity.
- Sensitivity and specificity
- Sensitivity is true positives divided by all true cases; specificity is true negatives divided by all non-cases. Predictive value additionally depends on disease prevalence in the tested population.
- WHO five moments
- Hand hygiene before patient contact, before an aseptic task, after body fluid exposure risk, after patient contact, and after touching patient surroundings.
- Alcohol rub exceptions
- Alcohol-based hand rub is preferred when hands are not visibly soiled. Soap and water is required for visible soil and for spore-formers such as Clostridioides difficile because alcohol does not kill spores.
- Airborne precautions requirements
- N95 or higher respirator, negative-pressure room with 6 to 12 air changes per hour and door closed. Applied to tuberculosis, measles, and varicella.
- Droplet precautions requirements
- Surgical mask plus standard precautions for care within about 3 feet of the patient. Used for influenza, pertussis, meningococcal disease, and group A streptococcal pharyngitis.
- Contact precautions requirements
- Gown and gloves worn on room entry with hand hygiene after removal. Applied to MRSA, VRE, C. difficile, other multidrug-resistant organisms, and diarrheal illness.
- PPE donning sequence
- Perform hand hygiene, then gown, mask or respirator, eye protection, and gloves last. Removal reverses the order, with hand hygiene after glove removal and after all PPE removal.
- HIV postexposure prophylaxis timing
- Start antiretroviral prophylaxis as soon as possible after exposure, ideally within 2 hours and no later than 72 hours, for a 28-day course when indicated.
- Hepatitis B immunity threshold
- Documented anti-HBs of 10 mIU/mL or greater after vaccination indicates immunity. Unvaccinated exposed personnel receive immune globulin plus vaccine series.
- Percutaneous exposure risk
- Approximate transmission risk per needlestick: hepatitis B 6 to 30 percent when the source is HBeAg positive, hepatitis C about 1.8 percent, HIV about 0.3 percent.
- Pertussis postexposure management
- Exposed healthcare personnel receive azithromycin prophylaxis and are excluded from work until 5 days of antibiotics are completed or 21 days after exposure.
- Varicella exposure work restriction
- Nonimmune staff are excluded from work from day 10 through day 21 after exposure, extended to day 28 if varicella-zoster immune globulin was administered.
- Measles exposure exclusion
- Nonimmune exposed healthcare personnel are excluded from work from day 5 through day 21 after exposure. Two documented MMR doses or serologic immunity exempts them.
- Annual facility risk assessment
- A facility-wide review of populations, procedures, and pathogens that identifies infection risks and directs the infection prevention plan, goals, and resource allocation for the year.
- Stewardship core elements
- Leadership commitment, accountability, drug expertise, action through prior authorization or audit and feedback, tracking, reporting, and education. These structure a hospital antimicrobial stewardship program.
- Outbreak communication structure
- Assign one designated spokesperson, use pre-approved message templates, and align messaging across shifts and departments so staff and the public receive consistent, accurate information.
- Infection prevention committee makeup
- Multidisciplinary membership including medical staff, nursing, laboratory, pharmacy, environmental services, and administration, with defined reporting lines to the governing body.
- Cohort versus case-control
- Cohort studies follow exposed and unexposed groups and yield incidence and relative risk. Case-control studies compare prior exposures among cases and controls, yielding odds ratios for rare outcomes.
- Relative risk formula
- Incidence in the exposed group divided by incidence in the unexposed group. A value of 1.0 indicates no association; greater than 1.0 suggests increased risk.
- Internal versus external validity
- Internal validity reflects freedom from bias and confounding within the study. External validity reflects how well findings generalize to other populations, settings, and time periods.
- Competency validation method
- Combine a written knowledge assessment with direct observation or return demonstration of the skill, repeated at defined intervals, so both knowledge and practice are verified.
- IRB approval requirement
- Institutional review board review and approval must precede collection of human-subjects data; informed consent is documented unless the board formally grants a waiver.