Chapter 05: Infection Control

Chapter 05: Infection Control

Complete Chapter Questions With Answers

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. The patient is in isolation in a negative-pressure room for active tuberculosis. He coughs and spews large amounts of blood-tinged sputum but is too weak to cover his mouth and nose with a tissue. Which is the most important intervention for the nurse to implement for self-protection while providing nursing care?

ANS:  B

Wearing suitable protective barriers is the most important intervention to implement because it protects the nurse from the airborne particles and the pathogens that can land on surfaces from droplets of the patient’s coughing. The nurse wears a mask suitable for airborne precautions to prevent inhalation of suspended Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the air and gloves, gown, and goggles to protect clothing and mucous membranes from contact with body fluids because of the patient’s poor hygiene due to his weakened state. Respirator masks are used in airborne precautions because these masks filter what the wearer inhales. The patient should wear a mask if he or she must leave the room because a surgical mask controls what the wearer exhales; a mask for the patient is not indicated in the isolation room. The nurse can inhale airborne particles through the pores of a surgical mask, regardless of how well it fits, because a surgical mask controls what is exhaled.

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Analyze                REF:   Page 84

OBJ:   NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care     TOP:   Nursing Process: Implementation

2. The nurse is caring for several patients under contact precautions. Which option is possible for the nurse to use if two of her patients have “like” infections?

ANS:  C

When a hospitalized patient has an infection, a nurse decides on the optimal room placement to minimize the chances of infection spreading to other patients. Two patients with “like” infections can be placed in the same room; this is called cohorting.

Double gloving is used during procedures to make it easier to remove one pair. Hand sanitizer is not effective against Clostridium difficile (“C. diff”) or when hands are visibly soiled.

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Apply                   REF:   Page 76| Page 83

OBJ:   NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care     TOP:   Nursing Process: Implementation

3. The nurse bathes a patient who has an infection transmitted by the oral-fecal route such as C. diff and notes a small tear in one glove. Which group of interventions does the nurse use for self-protection?

ANS:  D

For self-protection the nurse interrupts the bath to avoid additional exposure to a potential pathogen by removing the gloves, washing both hands with soap and water, and applying fresh gloves for protection against exposure so the nurse can finish the bath. The nurse risks infection by continuing the bath with a portal of entry on the glove. The nurse should perform hand hygiene before applying fresh gloves. Hand sanitizer is not effective with C. diff. Applying clean gloves over the torn gloves encases the potential pathogens and increases the risk of exposure to the pathogen.

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Apply                   REF:   Page 76

OBJ:   NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care     TOP:   Nursing Process: Implementation

4. A patient is in isolation in a negative-pressure room for tuberculosis, and the nurse notes that the respirator mask is damaged slightly. What is the initial action that the nurse should take?

ANS:  B

Before using the mask to enter the patient’s room, the nurse checks the fit to ensure a tight seal because the purpose of this mask in airborne precautions is to filter inhaled air and thereby protect the nurse against pathogens suspended in the air. The nurse can use the mask if the damage is minor and does not affect the seal. Co-workers do not share respirator masks because each employee is fitted individually. If the mask seal is affected, a new mask will be required. Switching assignments is not an appropriate request.

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Understand            REF:   Page 84

OBJ:   NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care     TOP:   Nursing Process: Planning

5. The nurse completes care for the patient on droplet precautions. Which procedure does the nurse implement to prevent transmitting the pathogen to other people?

ANS:  C

The nurse removes PPE to prevent self-contamination. He or she removes the gloves first to avoid contaminating the head, then removes the gown by unfastening neck ties and pulling it away and rolling into a bundle, then removing mask. These actions occur in the patient’s doorway to contain the pathogen and prevent transmission to people outside the room. The nurse risks contamination if the gloves and mask are removed at the bedside; if the mask is removed before the contaminated gloves, the nurse risks contaminating the head while untying the strings of the mask. PPE should be removed together, at the same location, and away from the source of contamination to facilitate containment of the pathogen. Removing PPE in the hallway or utility room would risk transmitting the pathogen to others.

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Apply                   REF:   Page 87

OBJ:   NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care     TOP:   Nursing Process: Implementation