Chapter 7

Question 1

Which is true regarding surgical asepsis?
a. It inhibits growth of pathogenic organisms.
b. It is known as a cleaning technique.
c. It includes hand hygiene.
d. It is known as a sterile technique.

Answer 1

d. It is known as a sterile technique.

Question 2

What action exemplifies a nurse practicing medical asepsis in performing daily care?
a. Lifting a sterile swab from a sterile field
b. Using disposable sterile gowns
c. Washing hands for 5 minutes between patients
d. Keeping bed linens off the floor

Answer 2

d. Keeping bed linens off the floor

Question 3

What bacteria can lie dormant when conditions for growth are not favorable?
a. Residue
b. Capsules
c. Spores
d. Flagella

Answer 3

c. Spores

Question 4

A patient with a respiratory infection reports that he is not yet on an antibiotic. The nurse
explains that the health care provider is waiting on the results of the culture and sensitivity.
What does this test determine?
a. What media the bacteria requires to grow
b. How fast the bacteria grow
c. Which antibiotics stop bacterial growth
d. When the bacteria colonize

Answer 4

c. Which antibiotics stop bacterial growth

Question 5

What bacterium is responsible for more diseases than any other organism?
a. Staphylococcus
b. Pseudomonas aeruginosa
c. Haemophilus influenzae
d. Streptococcus

Answer 5

d. Streptococcus

Question 6

What additional complication does a disease caused by a virus have compared to a disease
caused by bacteria?
a. Multiplies rapidly.
b. Returns frequently.
c. Is not killed by antibiotics.
d. Is unable to be cultured.

Answer 6

c. Is not killed by antibiotics.

Question 7

What should the nurse be diligent in to provide a safe environment for the patient?
a. Keeping a light on at night to prevent falls
b. Hand hygiene between patient contacts
c. Regulating the temperature to avoid drafts
d. Changing the bed linen to diminish microorganisms

Answer 7

b. Hand hygiene between patient contacts

Question 8

What does the nurse describe when giving an example of a fomite vehicle?
a. Rabid dog
b. Person with AIDS
c. Contaminated stethoscope
d. Infected wound

Answer 8

c. Contaminated stethoscope

Question 9

The nurse is concerned when a patient admitted with a diagnosis of pneumonia suddenly
develops a urinary tract infection (UTI). What type of infection is this UTIconsidered?
a. Viral infection
b. Bacterial infection
c. Health care–associated infection
d. Spore infection

Answer 9

c. Health care–associated infection

Question 10

The nurse prioritizes the care of four patients. Which patient has a systemic infection?
a. 14-year-old with acute appendicitis
b. 80-year-old with a urinary tract infection
c. 40-year-old with AIDS
d. 50-year-old with arthritis

Answer 10

c. 40-year-old with AIDS

Question 11

What assessment does the nurse recognize as an inflammatory response in a surgical wound
on the leg of a patient?
a. A foul drainage is coming from the wound.
b. The affected leg is cooler than the other leg.
c. There are raised, red, pruritic welts on the leg.
d. Rubor and edema appear around the wound.

Answer 11

d. Rubor and edema appear around the wound.

Question 12

The infection control health care provider plans an in-service on control of health
care–associated infections. What should be the focus of this program?
a. Observing nurses caring for patients
b. Screening patients who are admitted to the hospital
c. Educating hospital personnel about aseptic practices
d. Discharging infectious patients from the hospital

Answer 12

c. Educating hospital personnel about aseptic practices

Question 13

A health care worker is stuck by a needle left on the patient’s bedside table. The staff
member appropriately reports the needlestick. What will the indicated treatment be
combatting?
a. Hepatitis B
b. Streptococcal infections
c. Staphylococcal infections
d. Influenza

Answer 13

a. Hepatitis B

Question 14

What technique should the nurse use when disposing of linens contaminated with feces?
a. Don gown, gloves, and mask
b. Wash hands for 5 minutes after disposal
c. Don gloves only
d. Double-bag the sheets

Answer 14

c. Don gloves only

Question 15

The nurse is instructing a patient about the most important preventive technique for
breaking the chain of infection. What technique is the patient learning about?
a. Sterilization
b. Standard Precautions
c. Hand hygiene
d. Medical asepsis

Answer 15

c. Hand hygiene

Question 16

A nurse is observing isolation precautions by wearing a mask while performing complex
patient care. How often should the nurse change masks?
a. 5 to 10 minutes
b. 10 to 20 minutes
c. 20 to 30 minutes
d. 30 to 40 minutes

Answer 16

c. 20 to 30 minutes

Question 17

A major threat to healthcare workers is blood-contaminated sharps. What should the nurse
use to discard the used syringe?
a. Wastebasket
b. Sink
c. Puncture-proof container
d. Disinfecting soap

Answer 17

c. Puncture-proof container

Question 18

The nurse is transporting a patient in respiratory isolation to the radiology department. What
intervention should the nurse implement?
a. Cover the patient with a sheet.
b. Take the patient down the service elevator.
c. Apply a mask to the patient.
d. Call x-ray to come and get the patient.

Answer 18

c. Apply a mask to the patient.

Question 19

The patient in isolation may experience psychological or emotional deprivation. What
should the nurse do to help minimize these feelings?
a. Be cheerful.
b. Spend extra time with the patient.
c. Protect the patient from additional infection.
d. Answer the call light quickly.

Answer 19

b. Spend extra time with the patient.

Question 20

The infection control officer is observing hospital staff for appropriate use of aseptic
technique. What observation demonstrates the need for more instruction on surgicalasepsis?
a. Facing the sterile field
b. Placing a sterile dressing on a sterile field
c. Touching the edges of the sterile field with sterile gloves
d. Keeping gloved hands above the waist

Answer 20

c. Touching the edges of the sterile field with sterile gloves

Question 21

The nurse is pouring a sterile solution from a bottle. What direction should the label on the
bottle be in for appropriate technique?
a. Facing outward
b. Covered
c. Facing downward
d. In the palm of the hand

Answer 21

d. In the palm of the hand

Question 22

What is a method used to kill all microorganisms, including spores?
a. Disinfecting
b. Using an antiseptic
c. Using chlorine bleach
d. Sterilizing

Answer 22

d. Sterilizing

Question 23

The nurse accidently spills blood from a specimen container. The first action the nurse takes
is to don gloves. What should the nurse then spray the fluid with?
a. Liquid detergent
b. 20% bleach solution
c. 10% bleach solution
d. Warm soapy water

Answer 23

c. 10% bleach solution

Question 24

When assessing a patient for signs of an infection, the nurse recognizes which laboratory
result as indicative of an infection?
a. Lowered red blood cell count
b. Increased white blood cell count
c. Lowered white blood cell count
d. Increased red blood cell count

Answer 24

b. Increased white blood cell count

Question 25

What can result from the nurse consistently performing hand hygiene and using sterile
supplies when caring for patients in the hospital setting?
a. Hospital stay is shortened
b. Sense of self-worth is improved
c. Risk of infection is reduced
d. Nursing care needed is reduced

Answer 25

c. Risk of infection is reduced

Question 26

Recognizing the stages of an infection assists the nurse in identifying the progression of an
infection. What is the nonspecific to specific symptom stage of an infection?
a. Convalescent
b. Illness
c. Prodromal
d. Incubation

Answer 26

c. Prodromal

Question 27

What is the most dependable and practical method to use when sterilizing instruments for
the operating room?
a. Chemical solution
b. Boiling water
c. Steam under pressure
d. Dry heat

Answer 27

c. Steam under pressure

Question 28

What contribution did Joseph Lister introduce to medical practice?
a. Isolation of infected patients
b. Iodine and alcohol use as disinfectants
c. The autoclave
d. Aseptic technique

Answer 28

d. Aseptic technique

Question 29

The nurse is providing instruction to an anxious mother of a child with Rocky Mountain
spotted fever. When discussing this diagnosis, what information will the nurse relay about
this disease?
a. It is extremely contagious among humans.
b. It is contracted from handling unvaccinated animals.
c. It is a hemolytic B Streptococcus infection spread by droplet transmission.
d. It is a serious disease contracted from the bite of a tick.

Answer 29

d. It is a serious disease contracted from the bite of a tick.

Question 30

The emergency department nurse is assessing a puncture wound of the foot. What is the
most likely type of infection in this wound?
a. Aerobic bacterial infection
b. Anaerobic bacterial infection
c. Viral infection
d. Fungal infection

Answer 30

b. Anaerobic bacterial infection

Question 31

The nurse is instructing a bioterrorism class regarding anthrax. How can anthrax be
transmitted?
a. From person to person
b. Through microscopic skin punctures
c. Through inhalation of the spores
d. By exposure to animals that have anthrax

Answer 31

c. Through inhalation of the spores

Question 32

The nurse is providing teaching to elementary students regarding vectors. What example
will the nurse provide as an example of a vector?
a. Child with measles giving it to his sister
b. Tick whose bite causes Lyme disease
c. Woman with syphilis infecting her partner
d. Dog whose bite causes rabies

Answer 32

b. Tick whose bite causes Lyme disease

Question 33

What type of organism causes malaria?
a. Bacterium
b. Virus
c. Protozoan
d. Fungus

Answer 33

c. Protozoan

Question 34

A nurse is performing an admission assessment on a patient with suspected tuberculosis.
What assessment findings by the nurse are consistent with tuberculosis?
a. Hemoptysis
b. Weight gain
c. Night terrors
d. Hypothermia

Answer 34

a. Hemoptysis

Question 35

A nurse is performing an admission assessment on a patient with suspected tuberculosis.
What is the greatest risk of exposure to tuberculosis?
a. After a diagnosis is made
b. Before a diagnosis is made
c. After the patient has begun medication therapy
d. After implementation of isolation precautions

Answer 35

b. Before a diagnosis is made