Hand Washing Lab

Why is it so important that surgeons scrub their hands prior to surgery even though they wear surgical gloves?

To get rid of opportunistic pathogens.

(T/F) Scrubbing the skin of the hands and forearms with soap and water and a scrub pad for 13 minutes represents twice what is normally done by surgeons.

True

Normal skin microflora is only found on the surface of the skin, so you must be careful not to wash them off!

False

T/F - Coagulase-positive, salt-tolerant staphylococci, like Staphylococcus epidermidis, are common and beneficial inhabitants of skin.

False

T/F - The first study to directly prove a 99% reduction in disease transmission by using hand washing with disinfectant in a medical setting occurred in 1946 and 1947.

False

T/F - Pathogenic microbes spread by being released into the environment via their portal of exit, and the environment in healthcare facilities is thereby enriched in transient, potentially pathogenic microbes.

True

T/F - Skin diptheroids are related to Corynebacterum diptheriae, include Proprionibacterium species, and prefer anaerobic or partly anaerobic zones were there is skin oil (sebum).

True

T/F - Skin staphylococci are generally coagulase-negative, salt-tolerant, tend to grow in dry areas, and are typified by Staphylococcus epidermidis.

True

T/F - The importance of hand washing when treating patients is credited to Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis, based on a study performed at a hospital in Vienna, Austria, where doctors and medial students were required to wash their hands using bleach solution before treating patients.

True

T/F - Transient bacteria are pathogenic and non-pathogenic microbes that come from contact with the environment and are not part of the normal skin microbiome.

True

T/F - Transient bacteria, some of which are potentially pathogenic, are much easier to remove than normal skin microflora, and can be dramatically reduced by hand washing.

True

Name the three types of microbes most commonly associated with skin

Diphtheroids, staphlococci, fungi

Differentiate between normal microbiota and transient bacteria found on skin. Which type is more difficult to remove?

Flora are microbes that are always there. Transient are ones that get picked up from the environment.

The human microflora of the skin is a highly protective biological ecosystem that exists:

In all layers of the skin exterior to the basement membrane.

What important opportunistic pathogen is associated with skin?

Staphylococcus aureus

How are normal skin flora beneficial to the host?

They take up space and nutrients from potential pathogens.

T/F - A common example of normal skin fungal microflora is Malassezia furfur.

True

T/F - Diseases commoly associated with skin diptheriods are diptheria and acne.

True

T/F - Fungi like Malassezzia furfur are part of the normal skin microbiota, but certain species can act as opportunistic pathogens and cause irritating, but generally harmless, infections like athlete's foot, jock itch, ringworm, etc.

True

T/F - In the US, 25% of the population carries potentially pathogenic coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus as part of their normal microbiota, especially in the nostrils.

True