Key Terms
new air placements
Air exchanges
a device that generates heat and pressure to sterilize objects instruments, and measures vessels
Autoclave
a medication prepared with aseptic technique in a sterile, cleanroom facility
Compounded Sterile Preparation
the part of the syringe and/or needle that is at risk for contamination by touch or airflow interruption
Critical Site
a chemical agent such as sterile 70% IPA used on inanimate surfaces and objects to destroy fungi, viruses, and bacteria, but not necessarily their spores
Disinfectant
an ISO Class 8 room or area immediately before the buffer room in which hand washing, hygiene, and garbing are done and supplies and ingredients are gathered between the pharmacy department and the cleanroom or buffer area
Anteroom
slide clamp used to completely stop the IV solution from flowing
Auxiliary Clamp
the process of boiling a liquid and capturing the condensed gases or vapor back into a purified liquid form
Distillation
the small, open space just below the spike adaptor where the drops of fluid from the IV bag into the tubing are counted by the nurse to determine the flow rate of the IV solution
Drip chamber
the number of drops that an IV tubing delivers to provide 1 mL; this number may be used by nurses to calculate the IV flow rate when using certain types of primary IV tubing; also called drop set or drip set
Drop factor
the absence of pathogenic microorganisms
Asepsis
a small, single-celled microorganism that can exist in three main forms, depending on type: spherical (i.e. cocci), rod-shaped (i.e., bacilli), and spiral (i.e., spirochetes)
Bacterium
a regional widespread contagious disease
Epidemic
funneling of a liquid or gas through filters, or mesh screens with minutes holes too small for biological and chemical contaminants to pass through
Filtration
a device used to filter over 99% of particulate matter from the air to establish an aseptic environment in which to prepare CSPs
HEPA
a more aggressive soap and water hand washing procedure, followed by the use of an antiseptic agent before donning sterile attire
Aseptic hand washing
an ISO Class 7 or cleaner area where the PEC s are physically located; also called the IV or cleanroom
Buffer room
also known as a laminar hood, a PEC (with an ISO Class 5 air quality in its DCA) used to prepare IV drug admixtures, nutrition solutions, and other parenteral products aseptically
Horizontal Laminar Air Flow Workbench
a connector on the IV tubing which allows the injection of IV fluid or medication other than that in the current IV bag to be infused into the patient’s vein
Injection Port
a device used in the IV line to remove contaminants such as glass, fibers, bits of rubber, and bacteria from IV fluids
In-Line Filter
the manipulation of sterile products and devices to avoid contamination by disease-causing organisms; includes cleanroom protocols and hand-washing and gowning procedures
Aseptic technique
an ISO-classified room (or two-room configuration of a cleanroom area) in which the concentration of airborne particles is controlled to meet a specified air-borne-particulate cleanliness class to prevent particle and microbial contamination of CSPs; also called the IV room or buffer room
Clean room
an air quality classification from the international organization for standardization measures the amount of particulate matter in room air; the lower the ISO number, the less particulate matter is present in the air
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
a sterile, disposable device of many components (including the tubing and ports) used to deliver IV fluids to patients
IV administration set
a small-volume parenteral (SVP) infusion (50 mL, 100 mL, 250 mL) containing medications attached to a primary LVP IV Solution
IVPB