Key Terms
Air Exchanges
New air replacements
Autoclave
A device that generates heat and pressure to sterilize objects, instruments, and measuring vessels.
Compounded Sterile Preparation
A medication prepared with aseptic technique in a sterile, cleanroom facility.
Drop factor
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.
Injection Port
A connector on the IV tubing that allows the injection of IV fluid or medication other than that in the current IV bag to be infused into the veins.
Anteroom
An ISO Class 8 room or area immediately before the buffer room in which hand washing, hygiene, and grabbing are done, and supplies and ingredients are gathered between the pharmacy department and the cleanroom or buffer area.
Auxiliary Clamp
A Slide clamp used to completely stop the IV solution from flowing.
Critical Site
The part of the syringe and/or needle that is at risk for contamination by touch or airflow interruption.
Epidemic
A regional widespread contagious disease.
In-Line Filter
A device used in the IV tubing that allows the injection of IV fluid or medication other than that in the current IV bag to be infused into the patient’s veins.
Asepsis
The absence of pathogenic microorganisms.
Bacterium
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)
Disinfectant
A chemical agent, such as sterile 70% IP, used on inanimate surfaces and objects to destroy fungi, viruses, and bacteria, but not necessarily their spores.
Filtration
Funneling of a liquid or gas through filters, or mesh screens with minute holes too small for biological and chemical contaminants to pass through.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
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.
Aseptic hand washing
A more aggressive soap and water hand washing procedure, followed by the use of an antiseptic agent before donning sterile attire.
Buffer room
An ISO Class 7 or cleaner area where the PECs are physically located: also called the IV or cleanroom.
Distillation
A process of boiling a liquid and capturing the condensed gases or vapor, then returning it to a purified liquid form.
HEPA
A device used to filter over 99% of particulate matter from air to establish an aseptic environment in which to prepare CSPs.
IV administration set
A sterile, disposable device of many components (including the tubing and ports) used to deliver IV fluids to patients.
Aseptic technique
The manipulation of sterile products and devices to prevent contamination by disease-causing organisms; includes cleanroom protocols, hand-washing, and gowning procedures.
Cleanroom
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.
Drip chamber
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.
Horizontal Laminar Air Flow Workbench (H-LAFW)
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.
IV Piggyback (IVPB)
A small-volume parenteral (SVP) infusion (50mL, 100mL, 250mL) containing medications attached to a LVP IV solution.