Infection Control and Patient Safety: cram pack

Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.

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1Formulas and methods

Infection control & patient safety

Method

  1. Start with standard precautions for every patient: hand hygiene, PPE for the expected exposure, safe sharps.
  2. Add precautions by route: contact (gown, gloves), droplet (surgical mask), airborne (N95, negative-pressure room).
  3. Keep sterile items sterile: if in doubt, it is not sterile; replace, never wipe.
  4. Prevent harm in the environment: fall measures, restraints only as a last resort, RACE and PASS for fire.
  5. Check the rights of medication administration, two identifiers and extra safeguards for high-alert drugs; report errors and near misses.

2Practice problems

1.Infection control & patient safetyMedium

Which technique is correct when collecting a wound culture?

  1. AClean the wound with sterile saline first, then swab clean tissue
  2. BUse one swab to sample two different wounds
  3. CCollect the sample only after antibiotics have been started
  4. DSwab the old pus on the dressing that was just removed from the wound
2.Infection control & patient safetyHard

A patient with severe dementia gets out of bed alone at night and has fallen twice. Which plan is most appropriate?

  1. AA sedative every night to keep the patient in bed
  2. BFour raised side rails, with the door closed at night for quiet
  3. CTying the patient into the chair overnight
  4. DLow bed, bed alarm, toileting rounds, night light and nonslip socks
3.Nursing fundamentalsMedium

Which measure helps prevent deep vein thrombosis in hospital patients?

  1. ARestricting fluids
  2. BEarly mobilisation and leg exercises
  3. CKeeping the patient in bed as long as possible
  4. DCrossing the legs while sitting
4.Nursing fundamentalsHard

Why should only the patient press the button of a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump?

  1. AVisitors might damage the pump or change its settings if they touch it
  2. BA drowsy patient stops pressing, which helps prevent overdose
  3. CNurses are not allowed to give opioids
  4. DThe pump only works with the patient's fingerprint
5.MicrobiologyMedium

How is DNA transferred between bacteria during conjugation?

  1. ABy uptake of free DNA from the environment
  2. BThrough direct contact using a sex pilus
  3. CBy a bacteriophage carrying bacterial DNA
  4. DBy fusion of two bacterial cells into one
6.MicrobiologyHard

Prions differ from all other infectious agents because they:

  1. AAre killed by normal cooking and disinfection
  2. BContain no nucleic acid and consist of misfolded protein
  3. CContain only RNA, with no protein coat surrounding the genome
  4. DCan only infect bacteria

3Solutions

1.Infection control & patient safety

Answer: A · Clean the wound with sterile saline first, then swab clean tissue

Why this is the answer

Old exudate contains surface bacteria that may not be causing the infection. The wound is cleaned with sterile saline and then swabbed over clean, viable tissue, ideally before antibiotics start.

Answer

A · Clean the wound with sterile saline first, then swab clean tissue
2.Infection control & patient safety

Answer: D · Low bed, bed alarm, toileting rounds, night light and nonslip socks

Why this is the answer

Combined measures reduce falls best: a low bed, alarms, scheduled rounding and toileting, good lighting and nonslip footwear. Four side rails, routine sedatives and restraint increase injury risk.

Answer

D · Low bed, bed alarm, toileting rounds, night light and nonslip socks
3.Nursing fundamentals

Answer: B · Early mobilisation and leg exercises

Why this is the answer

Moving early, leg exercises, good hydration and, where assessed as appropriate, compression or anticoagulant drugs reduce venous stasis and the risk of thrombosis.

Answer

B · Early mobilisation and leg exercises
4.Nursing fundamentals

Answer: B · A drowsy patient stops pressing, which helps prevent overdose

Why this is the answer

If the patient becomes too sleepy they cannot press the button, so no more opioid is given. When others press it this safety is lost and respiratory depression can follow.

Answer

B · A drowsy patient stops pressing, which helps prevent overdose
5.Microbiology

Answer: B · Through direct contact using a sex pilus

Why this is the answer

In conjugation a donor cell forms a pilus to a recipient and transfers DNA, often a plasmid. It is an important way for antibiotic resistance genes to spread.

Answer

B · Through direct contact using a sex pilus
6.Microbiology

Answer: B · Contain no nucleic acid and consist of misfolded protein

Why this is the answer

Prions are misfolded proteins that induce normal proteins to misfold. They contain no DNA or RNA and are very resistant to standard sterilisation.

Answer

B · Contain no nucleic acid and consist of misfolded protein

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