Ultimate CBIC Flashcards

Which surveillance method calculates infection rates using patient-days as the denominator?

Answer: Incidence density surveillance

Incidence density surveillance uses patient-days as the denominator, allowing more accurate rate comparisons across units with differing lengths of stay.

A healthcare worker sustains a needlestick injury from an HIV-positive patient. What is the FIRST action that should be taken?

Answer: Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water

The immediate first action following a needlestick is thorough washing of the wound with soap and water to reduce the pathogen load.

Which organism is most commonly associated with hospital-acquired urinary tract infections?

Answer: Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli is the most common causative organism in catheter-associated and non-catheter-associated healthcare-acquired UTIs.

The Spaulding classification system categorizes medical devices based on:

Answer: The risk of infection transmission associated with device use

The Spaulding classification categorizes devices as critical, semicritical, or noncritical based on the degree of infection risk when the item is used.

Which isolation precaution category requires placement of the patient in an airborne infection isolation room (AIIR)?

Answer: Airborne precautions

Airborne precautions require a negative-pressure AIIR to prevent transmission of small-particle aerosols such as those produced by tuberculosis or measles.

Which statistical measure describes the probability that a test will correctly identify individuals WITHOUT the disease?

Answer: Specificity

Specificity is the proportion of true negatives correctly identified by a test — the probability of a negative result in those who are truly disease-free.

What is the primary purpose of a root cause analysis (RCA) following a healthcare-associated infection outbreak?

Answer: To identify contributing factors and implement corrective actions

RCA is a systematic process to identify underlying causes of adverse events and implement sustainable corrective actions to prevent recurrence.