Deck 7: Asepsis and Infection Control

Question 1

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

Answer 1

Is not killed by antibiotics

Question 2

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.

Answer 2

It is known as a sterile technique.

Question 3

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

Answer 3

Keeping bed linens off the floor

Question 4

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

Question 5

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

Question 6

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

Question 7

The nurse observes a patient demonstrating wound cleaning. What action indicates the need for further instruction?

A) Using sterile gloves to perform the cleaning
B) Applying an antiseptic to the area
C) Cleaning the area from the outside in
D) Washing hands with soap

Question 8

A patient with ringworm asks the nurse if she has worms. What does the nurse inform the patient about the cause of ringworm?

A) Bacteria
B) Protozoa
C) Virus
D) Fungi

Question 9

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

Question 10

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

Question 11

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

Question 12

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

Question 13

A nurse is observing isolation precautions by wearing a mask while performing complex patient care. How often should the nurse change masks?

A) 5-10 minutes
B) 10-20 minutes
C) 20-30 minutes
D) 30-40 minutes

Question 14

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

Question 15

How long should the nurse perform hand hygiene before beginning care of a patient?

A) 5 minutes
B) 2 minutes
C) 1 minute
D) 30 seconds

Question 16

The infection control practitioner 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

Question 17

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

Question 18

What bacteria can lie dormant when conditions for growth are not favorable?

A) Residue
B) Capsules
C) Spores
D) Flagella

Question 19

A patient with a respiratory infection reports that he is not yet on an antibiotic. The nurse explains that the physician 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

Question 20

What bacterium is responsible for more diseases than any other organism?

A) Staphylococcus
B) Pseudomonas aeruginosa
C) Haemophilus influenzae
D) Streptococcus

Question 21

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

Question 22

A nurse is performing an admission assessment on a patient with suspected tuberculosis. What is the greatest risk of exposure to tuberculosis?

A) After a diagnosis is made
B) Before a diagnosis is made
C) After the patient has begun medication therapy
D) After implementation of isolation precautions

Question 23

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

Question 24

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

Question 25

What contribution did Joseph Lister introduce to medical practice?

A) Isolation of infected patients
B) Iodine and alcohol use as disinfectants
C) The autoclave
D) Aseptic technique

Question 26

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

Question 27

The nurse is instructing a bioterrorism class regarding anthrax. How can anthrax be transmitted?

A) From person to person
B) Through microscopic skin punctures
C) Through inhalation of the spores
D) By exposure to animals that have anthrax

Question 28

A nurse is performing an admission assessment on a patient with suspected tuberculosis. What assessment findings by the nurse are consistent with tuberculosis?

A) Hemoptysis
B) Weight gain
C) Night terrors
D) Hypothermia

Question 29

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

Question 30

What is the most dependable and practical method to use when sterilizing instruments for the operating room?

A) Chemical solution
B) Boiling water
C) Steam under pressure
D) Dry heat

Question 31

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

Question 32

Which numbered portion of the illustration below depicts the bacterial class bacilli?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) 5

Question 33

The nurse is providing teaching to elementary students regarding vectors. What example will the nurse provide as an example of a vector?

A) Child with measles giving it to his sister
B) Tick whose bite causes Lyme disease
C) Woman with syphilis infecting her partner
D) Dog whose bite causes rabies

Question 34

The emergency department nurse is assessing a puncture wound of the foot. What is the most likely type of infection in this wound?

A) Aerobic bacterial infection
B) Anaerobic bacterial infection
C) Viral infection
D) Fungal infection

Question 35

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

Question 36

Recognizing the stages of an infection assists the nurse in identifying the progression of an infection. What is the nonspecific to specific symptom stage of an infection?

A) Convalescent
B) Illness
C) Prodromal
D) Incubation

Question 37

A person can spread a bacterial infection by which actions? (Select all that apply.)

A) Kissing others
B) Sneezing at work
C) Donating blood
D) Coming in contact with blood products
E) Leaving used tissue on the lavatory

Question 38

The nurse is providing instruction to an anxious mother of a child with Rocky Mountain spotted fever. When discussing this diagnosis what information will the nurse relay about this disease?

A) It is extremely contagious among humans.
B) It is contracted from handling unvaccinated animals.
C) It is a hemolytic B Streptococcus infection spread by droplet transmission.
D) It is a serious disease contracted from the bite of a tick.

Question 39

What is a method used to kill all microorganisms, including spores?

A) Disinfecting
B) Using an antiseptic
C) Using chlorine bleach
D) Sterilizing

Question 40

What type of organism causes malaria?

A) Bacterium
B) Virus
C) Protozoan
D) Fungus

Question 41

A patient is distressed that an antibiotic has not been effective for the control of the infection. The nurse explains that some bacteria are capable of defending against antibiotics by the formation of a _______.

Question 42

What are some characteristics of microorganisms? (Select all that apply.)

A) Involved in a life process of their own
B) Pathogens that cause disease
C) Nonpathologic organisms that cause disease
D) May be infectious
E) Can enter the body via skin, air, or blood

Question 43

The nurse reminds a group of nursing students that the type of asepsis that destroys all microorganisms and their spores is _______ asepsis.