Key term
Air Exchanges
new air replacements
Autoclave
a device that generates heat and pressure to sterilize objects and instruments, and measures 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; nurses may use this number 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 IC bag to be infused into the patient’s vein
Anteroom
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
Auxiliary Clamp
side clamp used to completely stop the IV solution from flowing
Critical Site
the part of the syringe and/or need 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 line to remove contaminants such as glass, fibers, bits of rubber, and bacteria from IV fluids.
Asepsis
the absence of pathogenic micro-organisms
Bacterium
a small, single-celled micro-organism 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% IPA used on inanimate surfaces and objects to destroy fungi, viruses, and bacteria, but not necessarily their sponges
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
ISO
(International Organization for Standardization) an air quality classification from the ISO 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 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
the process of boiling a liquid and capturing the condensed gases or vapor back into a purified liquid form
HEPA
(high-efficiency particulate airflow) a device used to filter over 99% of particulate matter from the 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 avoid contamination by disease-causing organisms; includes cleanroom protocols and hand-washing and gowning procedures
Clean room
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 airborne-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 nurse counts the drops of fluid from the IV bag into the tubing 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
IVPB
(IV piggyback) a small-volume parenteral (SVP) infusion (50 ml, 100 ml, 250 ml) containing medications attached to a primary LVP IV solution