Infection Control

Question 1

What are Standard Precautions?

Answer 1

Nurses have a responsibility to implement effective infection control strategies. There are…

• Hand hygiene
• PPE use
• Safe disposal of sharps
• Aseptic non-touch technique
• Reprocessing of reusable medical equipment and instruments
• Respiratory hygiene and cough extricate
• Routine environmental cleaning
• Waste management
• Appropriate handling of linen

Question 2

What are the five moments of hand hygiene?

Answer 2

1. before touching a patient
2. before cleaning/ aseptic technique
3. after body fluid exposure risk
4. after touching a pateint
5. after touching a pts surroundings

Question 3

What are live vaccines?

Answer 3

Using an attenuated (weakened) form of a virus or bacteria.

Live vaccines do not usually cause disease in recipients who have already healthy immune systems however may cause a mild version of the infection.

Live vaccines are not safe for anyone immunocompromised as can cause serious
infection due to uncontrolled replication of the
virus.

Question 4

What are Dead or inactivated vaccine?

Answer 4

Using bacteria and viruses which have been inactivated. After immunisation the vaccine antigens cannot replicate or cause disease.

This type of vaccine can be safely given to a person who is immunocompromised however may not develop the same amount of protection compared to an otherwise healthy person.

Most inactivated vaccines usually require multiple doses.

Question 5

What are Subunit vaccines?

Answer 5

using parts of a bacteria or virus antigen or bacterial toxins that have been made harmless.

Question 6

What is a vaccine and how does it
work?

Answer 6

A vaccine contains a dead or weakened form of an antigen which stimulates the immune system to produce specific antibodies If infection in the future occurs the immune system is able to fight off and protect against the antigen.

Question 7

The smallest causative agents (listed below) capable of causing an infection are:
a. Bacteria
b. Viruses
c. Moulds
d. Yeasts

Answer 7

The correct answer is b. A virus is the smallest of all microorganisms and can only be seen with a special microscope.

Question 8

A person has developed a low-grade fever and states she has felt very tired lately. This phase of an infection is known as the:
a. Incubation period
b. Prodromal stage
c. Acute stage of illness
d. Convalescent period

Answer 8

b. During the prodromal stage, the person has vague clinical manifestations, such as fatigue and a low-grade fever.

There are no obvious symptoms of infection during the incubation period, and they are more specific during the full stage of illness, before disappearing by the convalescent period.

Question 9

person develops a urinary tract infection after an indwelling urinary catheter has been inserted. This would most accurately be termed:
a. A viral infection
b. A chronic infection
c. An iatrogenic infection
d. An opportunistic infection

Answer 9

The correct answer is c. An infection that develops as a result of the insertion of an indwelling catheter is termed iatrogenic. Because this infection just developed, it is not chronic, nor did it occur because of any altered physiology that may give an opportunistic organism a chance to cause infection. Urinary infections are bacterial, not viral.

Question 10

Contact precautions, as well as Standard precautions are used when looking after a patient with:
a. HIV
b. HBV
c. MRSA
d. TB

Answer 10

The correct answer is c. MRSA requires contact precautions in addition to standard precautions. Standard and transmission-based precautions are incorporated into the NHMRC guidelines.

Question 11

The recommended sequence for removing soiled personal protective equipment when the nurse prepares to leave a patient’s room is to remove:
a. Gown, gloves, hand hygiene, remove eyewear, eye protection, mask, and hand hygiene
b. Gloves, hand hygiene, remove eye protection, gown, mask, and hand hygiene
c. Gloves, mask, gown, eye protection, and hand hygiene
d. Eye protection, mask, gloves, gown, and hand hygiene

Answer 11

The correct answer is b. Gloves are always removed first, followed by hand hygiene, before removing eye protection, gown, and mask, and hand hygiene again before leaving the room.

Question 12

What is the main mechanism by which infections are spread in hospital?
a. Hands
b. Contaminated equipment
c. Breathing
d. Shared bathrooms

Answer 12

The correct answer is a. Hands are the main means of transmission of infection in the health care setting.

Question 13

These types of bacteria are much more difficult to remove from hands during routine hand washing:
a. Transient
b. Pseudomonas
c. Resident
d. E. coli

Answer 13

The correct answer is c. Resident bacteria normally reside in the creases in the skin and are less susceptible to antiseptic and hand hygiene (e.g. Staphylococcus epidermidis).

Question 14

What is the minimum time for effective alcohol-based hand rub?

Answer 14

20 seconds

Question 15

What is the correct sequence for donning PPE?

Answer 15

Gown, mask, goggles, gloves

Question 16

What is the correct sequence for doffing PPE

Answer 16

Gloves, goggles, gown, mask