CBIC Infection Prevention 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which transmission-based precaution category requires patients to be placed in a negative-pressure isolation room?
- Contact precautions
- Droplet precautions
- Airborne precautions (Correct answer)
- Protective environment
Correct answer: Airborne precautions
Airborne precautions require a negative-pressure room with at least 12 air changes per hour to prevent spread of pathogens such as M. tuberculosis and measles.
Question 2: A nurse develops a needlestick injury while drawing blood from an HIV-positive patient. According to CDC guidelines, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) should ideally be started within:
- 72 hours (Correct answer)
- 24 hours
- 1 week
- 48 hours
Correct answer: 72 hours
PEP should be initiated as soon as possible, ideally within hours, but remains effective if started within 72 hours of exposure.
Question 3: Which of the following is the MOST important element of a successful hand hygiene program in a healthcare setting?
- Providing alcohol-based hand rub at every point of care (Correct answer)
- Disciplinary action for noncompliance
- Annual hand hygiene competency testing
- Posting hand hygiene posters in patient rooms
Correct answer: Providing alcohol-based hand rub at every point of care
Ensuring alcohol-based hand rub is accessible at every point of care is the single most impactful structural intervention to improve hand hygiene compliance.
Question 4: The term 'healthcare-associated infection' (HAI) is defined as an infection that occurs:
- Within 48 hours of hospital admission or 3 days after discharge (Correct answer)
- Only during an inpatient hospitalization
- In a patient who was previously healthy
- Exclusively in ICU patients
Correct answer: Within 48 hours of hospital admission or 3 days after discharge
An HAI is an infection not present or incubating at admission that develops 48+ hours after admission, within 3 days of discharge, or 30 days after surgery.
Question 5: Which isolation precaution level is required for a patient diagnosed with Clostridioides difficile infection?
- Airborne precautions
- Droplet precautions
- Contact precautions (Correct answer)
- Standard precautions only
Correct answer: Contact precautions
C. difficile is spread via the fecal-oral route through contact with spores, requiring contact precautions including gown and gloves.
Question 6: An infection preventionist is reviewing NHSN data and notes the facility's CLABSI Standardized Infection Ratio (SIR) is 1.8. This means the facility has:
- 1.8 fewer infections than predicted
- 80% more infections than the national benchmark (Correct answer)
- Exactly 1.8 infections per 1,000 line days
- A ratio that meets the national target
Correct answer: 80% more infections than the national benchmark
An SIR of 1.8 means the facility observed 80% more infections than the NHSN national baseline prediction, indicating performance below benchmark.
Question 7: Which of the following personal protective equipment (PPE) items should be removed FIRST when doffing after caring for a patient on contact precautions?
- Mask
- Gloves (Correct answer)
- Gown
- Eye protection
Correct answer: Gloves
Gloves are removed first during doffing because they are the most contaminated item and removing them first prevents self-contamination during subsequent steps.
CBIC Infection Prevention 2
Which transmission-based precaution category requires patients to be placed in a negative-pressure isolation room?