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

Why are blood cultures usually taken from two separate venipuncture sites?

  1. ATo reduce the total amount of blood taken
  2. BTo make the results come back faster from the laboratory
  3. CTo help tell a true infection from skin contamination
  4. DBecause each site tests a different antibiotic
2.Infection control & patient safetyHard

A nurse has a needlestick from a patient known to have hepatitis C. Which statement about management is correct?

  1. AHepatitis C immune globulin is given within 24 hours, followed by a booster dose
  2. BThe hepatitis C vaccine series is started at once, with a booster dose six months later
  3. CThere is no preventive drug, so baseline and follow-up testing are done to detect infection early
  4. DNo follow-up is needed because hepatitis C does not spread by needles
3.Nursing fundamentalsMedium

Why must oxygen be prescribed with a target saturation range?

  1. AIt is a drug, and too much or too little can harm the patient
  2. BOxygen is expensive and must be counted
  3. CPrescriptions are needed only for oxygen used at home, not in hospital
  4. DOxygen is only allowed for surgical patients
4.Nursing fundamentalsHard

A patient with severe anaemia has an SpO₂ of 98%. Why can this reading be misleading?

  1. AThe red cells present are saturated, but the blood carries little oxygen
  2. BAnaemia damages the light sensor of the oximeter
  3. CAnaemia makes the oximeter read about 10% higher than the true saturation
  4. DPatients with anaemia always have a low true saturation
5.MicrobiologyMedium

How is DNA transferred between bacteria during conjugation?

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

A young adult with sore throat, fever and swollen lymph nodes is given amoxicillin and develops a widespread rash. Which infection is most likely?

  1. AMeasles
  2. BStreptococcal tonsillitis
  3. CChickenpox
  4. DInfectious mononucleosis caused by Epstein–Barr virus

3Solutions

1.Infection control & patient safety

Answer: C · To help tell a true infection from skin contamination

Why this is the answer

If the same organism grows from both sets, it is more likely to be a true bloodstream infection. Growth in only one set may be contamination from the skin.

Answer

C · To help tell a true infection from skin contamination
2.Infection control & patient safety

Answer: C · There is no preventive drug, so baseline and follow-up testing are done to detect infection early

Why this is the answer

There is no vaccine or post-exposure prophylaxis for hepatitis C. The exposure is reported, baseline tests are taken and follow-up testing identifies infection early, because effective treatment is available.

Answer

C · There is no preventive drug, so baseline and follow-up testing are done to detect infection early
3.Nursing fundamentals

Answer: A · It is a drug, and too much or too little can harm the patient

Why this is the answer

Oxygen is treated as a medicine. A target range guides the nurse to adjust the flow, avoiding both hypoxaemia and harm from excess oxygen, for example in patients who retain CO₂.

Answer

A · It is a drug, and too much or too little can harm the patient
4.Nursing fundamentals

Answer: A · The red cells present are saturated, but the blood carries little oxygen

Why this is the answer

SpO₂ shows the percentage of haemoglobin that carries oxygen, not how much haemoglobin there is. With very little haemoglobin the oxygen content of the blood can be low despite a normal saturation.

Answer

A · The red cells present are saturated, but the blood carries little oxygen
5.Microbiology

Answer: A · 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

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

Answer: D · Infectious mononucleosis caused by Epstein–Barr virus

Why this is the answer

Glandular fever is caused by EBV. Many patients given amoxicillin during the illness develop a rash. Antibiotics do not help because the cause is viral.

Answer

D · Infectious mononucleosis caused by Epstein–Barr virus

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