Asepsis and PPE

Every question here, with the answer

1. A nurse enters the room of a patient who is positive for Clostridioides difficile. There is alcohol-based hand sanitizer by the door, and the nurse’s hands are not visibly soiled. Which hand hygiene action is best before and after providing care?

   1. Wash hands with soap and water when entering and exiting the room.
   2. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer because the hands are not visibly soiled.
   3. Put on gloves and delay hand hygiene until all care is completed.
   4. Use a strong chemical disinfectant on the hands before touching the patient.

   Answer: Wash hands with soap and water when entering and exiting the room.

   Soap and water is the best choice for C. diff because the section states that this bacteria is only removed with soap and water. Hand sanitizer is effective for many pathogens but not for C. diff, gloves do not replace hand hygiene, and disinfectants should not be used on skin.

2. The nurse is reinforcing medical asepsis practices on a busy unit. Which actions reflect core practices of medical asepsis? Select all that apply.

   1. Use protective equipment and isolation as indicated.
   2. Use sterile technique for every medication administration.
   3. Disinfect a blood pressure cuff between patients.
   4. Perform hand hygiene before direct contact with a patient.
   5. Apply chemical disinfectant to a patient’s skin before routine care.

   Answer: Use protective equipment and isolation as indicated., Disinfect a blood pressure cuff between patients., Perform hand hygiene before direct contact with a patient.

   Medical asepsis includes hand hygiene, environmental cleanliness, protective equipment, and isolation. Disinfecting patient-care objects such as blood pressure cuffs supports environmental cleanliness; sterile technique is not required for every medication administration, and disinfectants should not be used on skin.

3. A nurse is preparing to perform a catheterization. Which approach should the nurse use to prevent infection?

   1. Sanitize the area by cleaning linens before the procedure.
   2. Use clean technique because reducing pathogens is sufficient for catheterization.
   3. Use a strong chemical disinfectant on the patient’s skin.
   4. Use sterile technique to keep the environment and equipment free of microorganisms.

   Answer: Use sterile technique to keep the environment and equipment free of microorganisms.

   Catheterization is a procedure requiring surgical asepsis, which uses sterile technique to eliminate microorganisms. Clean technique reduces pathogens but does not eliminate all of them, sanitizing linen is not the procedure needed, and disinfectants are for objects rather than skin.

4. After providing care while wearing gloves, the nurse is deciding when gloves must be removed and hand hygiene performed. Which situations require this action? Select all that apply.

   1. Contact with a single patient has ended.
   2. Contact with blood or bodily fluids has ended.
   3. At the end of the shift if the gloves have remained dry.
   4. The nurse is leaving the patient’s room.
   5. There is a need for hand hygiene.

   Answer: Contact with a single patient has ended., Contact with blood or bodily fluids has ended., The nurse is leaving the patient’s room., There is a need for hand hygiene.

   The section lists these situations as times when gloves should be removed and hand hygiene should occur. Waiting until the end of the shift is unsafe because the same pair of gloves should never be worn more than once.

5. During bedside shift report, the nurse sees an airborne precautions sign on a patient’s door and notices that the mask box outside the room is empty. What is the nurse’s priority action before continuing report?

   1. Ask the patient to wear gloves while staff are in the room.
   2. Rely on hand hygiene and continue report without replacing the masks.
   3. Replace the mask supply before anyone enters the room.
   4. Enter the room quickly because report is not direct patient care.

   Answer: Replace the mask supply before anyone enters the room.

   For airborne precautions, masks are described as the first line of defense against airborne pathogens. Replacing the empty supplies before anyone enters reduces risk to staff and other patients; entering without the needed PPE is unsafe.

6. The nurse is reviewing a hospitalized patient’s plan of care and identifies factors that increase the patient’s risk for acquiring a healthcare-associated infection. Which findings are risk factors described in the section? Select all that apply.

   1. Appropriate hand hygiene and glove usage
   2. Multiple invasive procedures
   3. Underlying comorbidities
   4. Greater amount of antibiotic therapy received
   5. Longer hospitalization

   Answer: Multiple invasive procedures, Underlying comorbidities, Greater amount of antibiotic therapy received, Longer hospitalization

   The section identifies hospitalization length, invasive procedures, antibiotic therapy, and comorbidities as HAI risk factors. Appropriate hand hygiene and glove usage are prevention strategies, not risk factors.