LETS
What is true regarding surgical asepsis?
a. It inhibits growth of pathogenic organisms.
b. It is known as a cleaning technique.
c. It includes hand hygiene.
d. It is known as a sterile technique.
ANS: D
Surgical asepsis is known as a sterile technique.
What action exemplifies a nurse practicing medical asepsis in performing daily care?
a. Lifting a sterile swab from a sterile field
b. Using disposable sterile gowns
c. Washing hands for 5 minutes between patients
d. Keeping bed linens off the floor
ANS: D
Keeping the bed linens off the floor is an example of medical asepsis; all other options are examples of surgical asepsis.
What bacteria can lie dormant when conditions for growth are not favorable?
a. Residue
b. Capsules
c. Spores
d. Flagella
ANS: C
Spore formation occurs when conditions are unfavorable, causing the bacteria to take a dormant form.
A patient with a respiratory infection reports that he is not yet on an antibiotic. The nurse explains that the health care provider is waiting on the results of the culture and sensitivity. What does this test determine?
a. What media the bacteria requires to grow
b. How fast the bacteria grow
c. Which antibiotics stop bacterial growth
d. When the bacteria colonize
ANS: C
Sensitivity tests are done to determine which antibiotics will stop growth.
What bacterium is responsible for more diseases than any other organism?
a. Staphylococcus
b. Pseudomonas aeruginosa
c. Haemophilus influenzae
d. Streptococcus
ANS: D
The Streptococcus bacterium is responsible for more diseases than any other organism.
What additional complication does a disease caused by a virus have compared to a disease caused by bacteria?
a. Multiplies rapidly.
b. Returns frequently.
c. Is not killed by antibiotics.
d. Is unable to be cultured.
ANS: C
Antibiotics do not alter the course of a disease caused by a virus.
What should the nurse be diligent in to provide a safe environment for the patient?
a. Keeping a light on at night to prevent falls
b. Hand hygiene between patient contacts
c. Regulating the temperature to avoid drafts
d. Changing the bed linen to diminish microorganisms
ANS: B
One of the most important actions is hand hygiene before caring for another patient.
What does the nurse describe when giving an example of a fomite vehicle?
a. Rabid dog
b. Person with AIDS
c. Contaminated stethoscope
d. Infected wound
ANS: C
If a vehicle is an inanimate (nonliving) object, it is called a fomite.
The nurse is concerned when a patient admitted with a diagnosis of pneumonia suddenly develops a urinary tract infection (UTI). What type of infection is this UTI considered?
a. Viral infection
b. Bacterial infection
c. Health care–associated infection
d. Spore infection
ANS: C
More than 40 million people are admitted to hospitals each year and as many as 10% of them acquire a health care–associated infection while there. Criteria for health care–associated infections require that the infection manifest at least 48 hours after hospitalization or contact with another health agency.
The nurse prioritizes the care of four patients. Which patient has a systemic infection?
a. 14-year-old with acute appendicitis
b. 80-year-old with a urinary tract infection
c. 40-year-old with AIDS
d. 50-year-old with arthritis
ANS: C
AIDS is a systemic viral infection. Acute appendicitis and urinary tract infections are local infections. Arthritis is not an infection.
What assessment does the nurse recognize as an inflammatory response in a surgical wound on the leg of a patient?
a. A foul drainage is coming from the wound.
b. The affected leg is cooler than the other leg.
c. There are raised, red, pruritic welts on the leg.
d. Rubor and edema appear around the wound.
ANS: D
Rubor and edema are two of the cardinal signs of an inflammatory response. Foul drainage suggests infection, the affected leg being cooler than the other leg suggests circulatory disorder, and raised, red, pruritic welts on the leg suggest allergy.
The infection control health care provider plans an in-service on control of health care–associated infections. What should be the focus of this program?
a. Observing nurses caring for patients
b. Screening patients who are admitted to the hospital
c. Educating hospital personnel about aseptic practices
d. Discharging infectious patients from the hospital
ANS: C
Duties of the infection control health care provider include staff education on infection control.
A health care worker is stuck by a needle left on the patient’s bedside table. The staff member appropriately reports the needlestick. What will the indicated treatment be combatting?
a. Hepatitis B
b. Streptococcal infections
c. Staphylococcal infections
d. Influenza
ANS: A
Workers who have had a needlestick need to complete an injury report and seek treatment in the event of exposure to hepatitis B.
What technique should the nurse use when disposing of linens contaminated with feces?
a. Don gown, gloves, and mask
b. Wash hands for 5 minutes after disposal
c. Don gloves only
d. Double-bag the sheets
ANS: C
All health care workers should follow Standard Precautions to prevent infection from pathogens. Standard Precautions for the disposal of ordinary feces require only that the nurse don gloves.
The nurse is instructing a patient about the most important preventive technique for breaking the chain of infection. What technique is the patient learning about?
a. Sterilization
b. Standard Precautions
c. Hand hygiene
d. Medical asepsis
ANS: C
Hand hygiene is the most important preventive measure for interrupting the infection process.
A nurse is observing isolation precautions by wearing a mask while performing complex patient care. How often should the nurse change masks?
a. 5 to 10 minutes
b. 10 to 20 minutes
c. 20 to 30 minutes
d. 30 to 40 minutes
ANS: C
The mask should be changed every 20 to 30 minutes.
A major threat to health care workers is blood-contaminated sharps. What should the nurse use to discard the used syringe?
a. Wastebasket
b. Sink
c. Puncture-proof container
d. Disinfecting soap
ANS: C
All patient care areas where sharps are used require puncture-proof containers.
The nurse is transporting a patient in respiratory isolation to the radiology department. What intervention should the nurse implement?
a. Cover the patient with a sheet.
b. Take the patient down the service elevator.
c. Apply a mask to the patient.
d. Call x-ray to come and get the patient.
ANS: C
If a patient requiring respiratory isolation must be transported to another area, the patient must don a mask.
The patient in isolation may experience psychological or emotional deprivation. What should the nurse do to help minimize these feelings?
a. Be cheerful.
b. Spend extra time with the patient.
c. Protect the patient from additional infection.
d. Answer the call light quickly.
ANS: B
To minimize feelings of psychological or emotional deprivation, the nurse should spend extra time with the patient.
The infection control officer is observing hospital staff for appropriate use of aseptic technique. What observation demonstrates the need for more instruction on surgical asepsis?
a. Facing the sterile field
b. Placing a sterile dressing on a sterile field
c. Touching the edges of the sterile field with sterile gloves
d. Keeping gloved hands above the waist
ANS: C
The edges of a sterile field are not considered sterile.
The nurse is pouring a sterile solution from a bottle. What direction should the label on the bottle be in for appropriate technique?
a. Facing outward
b. Covered
c. Facing downward
d. In the palm of the hand
ANS: D
The bottle should be held with the label in the palm of the hand.
What is a method used to kill all microorganisms, including spores?
a. Disinfecting
b. Using an antiseptic
c. Using chlorine bleach
d. Sterilizing
ANS: D
Sterilization refers to methods used to kill all microorganisms and spores.
The nurse accidently spills blood from a specimen container. The first action the nurse takes is to don gloves. What should the nurse then spray the fluid with?
a. Liquid detergent
b. 20% bleach solution
c. 10% bleach solution
d. Warm soapy water
ANS: C
Any accidental body fluid spill should be cleaned up as soon as possible. The person cleaning the spill should wear gloves.
When assessing a patient for signs of an infection, the nurse recognizes which laboratory result as indicative of an infection?
a. Lowered red blood cell count
b. Increased white blood cell count
c. Lowered white blood cell count
d. Increased red blood cell count
ANS: B
Increased white blood cell count may indicate an infection.
What can result from the nurse consistently performing hand hygiene and using sterile supplies when caring for patients in the hospital setting?
a. Hospital stay is shortened
b. Sense of self-worth is improved
c. Risk of infection is reduced
d. Nursing care needed is reduced
ANS: C
Hand hygiene is the most important measure for interrupting the infectious process.