NCAS Infection Control and Prevention 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which level of precautions is used for ALL patients regardless of suspected or confirmed infection status in US health care settings?
- Standard Precautions (Correct answer)
- Airborne Precautions
- Contact Precautions
- Droplet Precautions
Correct answer: Standard Precautions
Standard Precautions apply to every patient interaction in all health care settings, treating all blood, body fluids, and non-intact skin as potentially infectious.
Question 2: A patient is diagnosed with active pulmonary tuberculosis. Which type of transmission-based precautions should the community nurse recommend?
- Airborne Precautions with negative pressure room and N95 respirator (Correct answer)
- Contact Precautions with gloves and gown only
- Droplet Precautions with surgical mask
- Standard Precautions only
Correct answer: Airborne Precautions with negative pressure room and N95 respirator
Active TB requires Airborne Precautions including a negative pressure isolation room and an N95 respirator because TB bacilli travel on small airborne particles.
Question 3: The community health nurse is teaching proper hand hygiene. According to CDC guidelines, which situation requires handwashing with soap and water rather than alcohol-based hand rub?
- When hands are visibly soiled or after contact with a patient with Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) (Correct answer)
- Before preparing medications
- After removing clean gloves
- After contact with intact patient skin only
Correct answer: When hands are visibly soiled or after contact with a patient with Clostridioides difficile (C. diff)
Soap and water are required for visibly soiled hands and after caring for C. diff patients, as alcohol-based hand rubs are ineffective against C. diff spores.
Question 4: Which vaccine-preventable disease is characterized by a prodrome of Koplik's spots followed by a maculopapular rash spreading from head to trunk?
- Measles (rubeola) (Correct answer)
- Rubella
- Varicella (chickenpox)
- Roseola
Correct answer: Measles (rubeola)
Koplik's spots (bluish-white spots on the buccal mucosa) followed by a cephalocaudal maculopapular rash are classic presentations of measles.
Question 5: A community nurse is managing a norovirus outbreak at a long-term care facility. Which action is MOST important to contain spread?
- Cohort ill residents, implement Contact Precautions, enforce hand hygiene with soap and water (Correct answer)
- Administer antiviral medications to all residents
- Apply alcohol hand sanitizer exclusively throughout the facility
- Allow well residents to visit ill residents to build immunity
Correct answer: Cohort ill residents, implement Contact Precautions, enforce hand hygiene with soap and water
Norovirus outbreaks in congregate settings require cohorting ill persons, Contact Precautions, and soap-and-water handwashing because alcohol hand rub is less effective against norovirus.
Question 6: Which of the following is the CDC's recommended sequence for donning (putting on) PPE in a health care setting?
- Gown, mask/respirator, eye protection, gloves (Correct answer)
- Gloves, gown, mask, face shield
- Mask, gown, gloves, face shield
- Face shield, gloves, gown, mask
Correct answer: Gown, mask/respirator, eye protection, gloves
The CDC donning sequence is: gown first, then mask/respirator, then eye protection/face shield, and finally gloves, ensuring each layer protects the next.
NCAS Infection Control and Prevention 1
Which level of precautions is used for ALL patients regardless of suspected or confirmed infection status in US health care settings?