LVN Infection Control & Safety Practices 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which patient scenario represents the highest risk for developing a healthcare-associated infection (HAI)?
- A 25-year-old ambulatory patient receiving outpatient antibiotics
- An 80-year-old with an indwelling urinary catheter on broad-spectrum antibiotics (Correct answer)
- A 45-year-old admitted for elective knee replacement with no comorbidities
- A 60-year-old with hypertension admitted for observation
Correct answer: An 80-year-old with an indwelling urinary catheter on broad-spectrum antibiotics
Invasive devices, advanced age, and antibiotic use are major HAI risk factors that compound each other in the elderly patient.
Question 2: The nurse observes a colleague reusing a single-use item on a second patient. What is the appropriate response?
- Ignore it if the colleague is experienced
- Report the observation to the charge nurse or supervisor (Correct answer)
- Ask the colleague quietly to stop after the shift ends
- Document the incident only in personal notes
Correct answer: Report the observation to the charge nurse or supervisor
Reuse of single-use items violates infection control policy and patient safety standards; reporting to a supervisor ensures immediate corrective action.
Question 3: Which cleaning agent is the gold standard for eliminating C. difficile spores from environmental surfaces?
- Quaternary ammonium compounds
- Alcohol-based wipes
- Diluted bleach solution (1:10) (Correct answer)
- Hydrogen peroxide spray
Correct answer: Diluted bleach solution (1:10)
C. difficile spores are resistant to alcohol and most disinfectants; a 1:10 bleach (sodium hypochlorite) solution is sporicidal and recommended by the CDC.
Question 4: A nurse prepares to change a central line dressing. Which action is essential to maintain aseptic technique?
- Use clean gloves throughout the entire procedure
- Apply sterile drape and don sterile gloves before touching the insertion site (Correct answer)
- Change the dressing as quickly as possible to reduce air exposure
- Clean the site with povidone-iodine from the edges inward
Correct answer: Apply sterile drape and don sterile gloves before touching the insertion site
Central line dressing changes require sterile technique, including a sterile field, sterile drape, and sterile gloves, to prevent catheter-related bloodstream infections.
Question 5: Which statement about the chain of infection is correct?
- Breaking any single link in the chain prevents infection transmission (Correct answer)
- All six links must be broken simultaneously to prevent infection
- The reservoir is the least important link to address
- Transmission routes cannot be interrupted in hospital settings
Correct answer: Breaking any single link in the chain prevents infection transmission
Infection transmission requires all links in the chain to be intact; interrupting any single link — portal of exit, transmission, or susceptible host — stops the process.
Question 6: A nurse is setting up a wet-to-dry wound dressing. To maintain medical asepsis, the nurse should:
- Use sterile saline and sterile gloves throughout the procedure
- Use clean gloves to remove the old dressing and sterile gloves to apply the new one (Correct answer)
- Use clean gloves for the entire procedure if the wound is not infected
- Apply dressing with bare hands if recently washed with soap and water
Correct answer: Use clean gloves to remove the old dressing and sterile gloves to apply the new one
Clean technique is acceptable for removing old dressings, but sterile technique with sterile gloves is required when applying the fresh dressing to a wound.
Question 7: Which action best prevents ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)?
- Positioning the patient supine at 0-degree elevation
- Elevating the head of the bed to 30–45 degrees (Correct answer)
- Suctioning the endotracheal tube every hour routinely
- Changing ventilator circuits every 24 hours
Correct answer: Elevating the head of the bed to 30–45 degrees
Elevating the head of the bed 30–45 degrees reduces gastric reflux and aspiration of oral secretions into the lungs, the primary mechanism of VAP.
LVN Infection Control & Safety Practices 4
Which patient scenario represents the highest risk for developing a healthcare-associated infection (HAI)?