Infection Prevention and Control
One-Sentence Definition
Infection prevention and control (IPC) is the set of practices that stop pathogens moving between patients, staff, and the healthcare environment.
Simple Explanation
Break the chain of transmission — most of it is hand hygiene, and most of the failure is hand hygiene.
Detailed Scientific Explanation
Chain of infection: reservoir → portal of exit → mode of transmission → portal of entry → susceptible host. IPC breaks any link.
Standard precautions apply to every patient: hand hygiene, PPE by anticipated exposure, safe injection practice, sharps safety, environmental cleaning, and respiratory etiquette.
Transmission-based precautions
| Type | Used for | Key measure |
|---|---|---|
| Contact | MRSA, VRE, CRE, Clostridioides difficile | Gloves + gown; C. difficile needs soap and water and a sporicidal agent — alcohol gel does not kill spores |
| Droplet | Influenza, meningococcus, pertussis | Surgical mask, ~1–2 m distance |
| Airborne | TB, measles, varicella | N95/FFP, negative-pressure room |
Device bundles are the highest-yield interventions: central line insertion and maintenance bundles (CLABSI), catheter-associated UTI bundles, ventilator bundles, and surgical site infection prevention (timing of prophylaxis, normothermia, glucose control).
Outbreak response in hospitals: case definition, screening of contacts, cohorting, environmental sampling when justified, and genomic confirmation of clusters (MLST and cgMLST).
Why hand hygiene still fails: compliance is measured at ~40–60% in many settings without sustained intervention. Ignaz Semmelweis demonstrated the effect in 1847 and was rejected.
Clinical Importance
- Directly prevents healthcare-associated infections, which are a major source of resistant-organism exposure
Research Importance
- Implementation science; behaviour change; environmental microbiology of hospitals
AMR Relevance
Together with Antimicrobial Stewardship and Vaccination, IPC is one of the three practical levers against Antimicrobial Resistance — and the only one that stops a resistant organism spreading once it exists.
Related MOCs
- MOC - Public Health & Epidemiology · MOC - Clinical Microbiology · MOC - Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
Active Recall Questions
- Why is alcohol hand rub inadequate for C. difficile?
- Name the five links in the chain of infection.
- Which precaution category applies to pulmonary tuberculosis?