CBM Infection Prevention & Treatment 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which organism is most commonly responsible for invasive burn wound infections in the early post-burn period?
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Staphylococcus aureus (Correct answer)
- Candida albicans
- Escherichia coli
Correct answer: Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus predominates in the first 48–72 hours after a burn injury before gram-negative organisms take over.
Question 2: A burn patient develops a fever of 102°F on post-burn day 3 with no wound changes. What is the most likely cause?
- Septicemia
- Wound infection
- Hypermetabolic inflammatory response (Correct answer)
- Pneumonia
Correct answer: Hypermetabolic inflammatory response
Fever in the first 48–72 hours post-burn is commonly attributable to the systemic inflammatory response rather than infection.
Question 3: What is the primary benefit of early excision and grafting in burn wound management regarding infection?
- Eliminates the need for topical antimicrobials
- Removes the necrotic tissue that serves as a bacterial growth medium (Correct answer)
- Prevents formation of contractures
- Reduces fluid resuscitation requirements
Correct answer: Removes the necrotic tissue that serves as a bacterial growth medium
Eschar removal eliminates the avascular necrotic tissue where bacteria proliferate and systemic antibiotics cannot reach.
Question 4: Which isolation precaution level is recommended for burn patients colonized with MRSA?
- Standard precautions only
- Droplet precautions
- Contact precautions (Correct answer)
- Airborne precautions
Correct answer: Contact precautions
Contact precautions (gown and gloves) are required to prevent MRSA transmission through direct or indirect contact.
Question 5: The quantitative wound biopsy threshold that indicates invasive burn wound infection is:
- 10² organisms per gram of tissue
- 10⁴ organisms per gram of tissue
- 10⁵ organisms per gram of tissue (Correct answer)
- 10⁷ organisms per gram of tissue
Correct answer: 10⁵ organisms per gram of tissue
Greater than 10⁵ (100,000) organisms per gram of tissue is the established threshold for diagnosing invasive burn wound infection.
Question 6: Which antifungal agent is most commonly used for topical treatment of fungal burn wound infections?
- Fluconazole cream
- Nystatin powder (Correct answer)
- Clotrimazole lotion
- Voriconazole gel
Correct answer: Nystatin powder
Nystatin powder is widely used as a topical antifungal in burn wound care, often mixed with mafenide or silver sulfadiazine.
Question 7: A burned hand shows purple-black discoloration and rapid conversion of partial-thickness to full-thickness injury. This suggests:
- Normal eschar formation
- Invasive fungal infection (Correct answer)
- Contact dermatitis reaction
- Hypertrophic scar formation
Correct answer: Invasive fungal infection
Rapid wound conversion with dark discoloration is a hallmark sign of invasive fungal infection, particularly Aspergillus or Mucor species.
CBM Infection Prevention & Treatment 2
Which organism is most commonly responsible for invasive burn wound infections in the early post-burn period?