Microbiology and Infection Control Questions and Answers Flashcards
7 cards from real CER practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Microbiology and Infection Control Questions and Answers flashcards as text
An automated endoscope reprocessor (AER) cycle fails mid-process due to a power interruption. The endoscope should be:
Answer: Removed, manually inspected, and reprocessed from the beginning with a complete cycle
An incomplete AER cycle cannot guarantee HLD; the scope must undergo a full reprocessing cycle from the start before patient use.
In infection control, the term 'reservoir' refers to:
Answer: The person, animal, or environment where an infectious agent normally lives and multiplies
A reservoir is the natural habitat or source where a pathogen survives and replicates before being transmitted to a susceptible host.
Which reprocessing protocol modification is specifically recommended for duodenoscopes following multiple CRE outbreak investigations?
Answer: Microbiological culturing and quarantine-until-negative or additional sterilization methods
FDA and CDC have recommended enhanced reprocessing including microbiological surveillance culturing with quarantine-until-negative results or sterilization due to duodenoscope elevator mechanism contamination risks.
Hand hygiene with soap and water is PREFERRED over alcohol-based hand rubs when hands are visibly soiled or contaminated with which organism?
Answer: Clostridium difficile
Alcohol does not kill C. difficile spores; soap and water mechanically removes spores from hands more effectively than alcohol-based products.
What does the term 'reuse life' refer to in the context of high-level disinfectant solutions?
Answer: The maximum number of days or cycles a prepared HLD solution can be used without losing efficacy
Reuse life is the validated period during which an activated/diluted HLD solution maintains minimum effective concentration when tested with MEC strips and not exceeded in volume capacity.
Which of the following BEST describes the chain of infection that endoscope reprocessing is specifically designed to break?
Answer: Removing or inactivating the infectious agent on the instrument before it contacts the next patient
Reprocessing targets the infectious agent link in the chain of infection by reducing or eliminating viable pathogens on the endoscope before the next patient contact.
A technician preparing ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA) solution for HLD is NOT required to perform which of the following steps that IS required for glutaraldehyde?
Answer: Activating the solution by mixing a two-part formula
OPA is supplied as a ready-to-use single-component solution requiring no activation, unlike glutaraldehyde which requires mixing an activator to become effective.