CSA Infection Control & Prevention 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An administrator notices multiple residents on the same hall developing similar gastrointestinal symptoms within 48 hours. What is the FIRST action the administrator should take?
- Immediately close the facility to new admissions and notify the media
- Notify the infection preventionist and begin outbreak investigation and symptom surveillance (Correct answer)
- Administer prophylactic antibiotics to all residents on the affected hall
- Transfer symptomatic residents to the hospital to prevent further spread
Correct answer: Notify the infection preventionist and begin outbreak investigation and symptom surveillance
Initiating an outbreak investigation through the infection preventionist and implementing symptom surveillance is the first step to identify the scope, cause, and contain the outbreak.
Question 2: Which of the following is classified as a healthcare-associated infection (HAI)?
- A urinary tract infection present on admission that was acquired in the community
- A surgical site infection developing 5 days after a procedure performed at the facility (Correct answer)
- A cold contracted by a resident during a family visit
- Pneumonia diagnosed at the time of admission from a prior hospitalization
Correct answer: A surgical site infection developing 5 days after a procedure performed at the facility
An HAI is an infection that develops after admission to or in association with a healthcare setting, such as a surgical site infection appearing days after a procedure.
Question 3: What is 'cohorting' in the context of infection control in a long-term care facility?
- Grouping infected residents together and assigning dedicated staff to care only for that group (Correct answer)
- Transferring all infected residents to a single isolation room regardless of diagnosis
- Requiring all staff to wear full PPE throughout the entire facility during an outbreak
- Canceling all group activities until the infection rate drops to zero
Correct answer: Grouping infected residents together and assigning dedicated staff to care only for that group
Cohorting groups residents with the same confirmed infection together and assigns dedicated staff to minimize the risk of cross-transmission to non-infected residents.
Question 4: MRSA stands for which of the following?
- Multi-Resistant Staphylococcal Antibiotic
- Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (Correct answer)
- Multi-Resistant Streptococcal Agent
- Methicillin-Resistant Salmonella aureus
Correct answer: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
MRSA stands for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a strain of staph bacteria resistant to many common antibiotics including methicillin.
Question 5: Which infection surveillance method tracks all infections occurring within a defined resident population regardless of body site?
- Targeted surveillance
- Prevalence survey
- Total facility (house-wide) surveillance (Correct answer)
- Sentinel surveillance
Correct answer: Total facility (house-wide) surveillance
Total facility (house-wide) surveillance captures all infections across all body sites and the entire resident population, providing the most comprehensive infection data.
Question 6: The typical incubation period for norovirus, a common cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks in long-term care facilities, is:
- 6–12 hours
- 12–48 hours (Correct answer)
- 3–5 days
- 7–14 days
Correct answer: 12–48 hours
Norovirus has an incubation period of 12–48 hours, which is important for identifying the exposure window during an outbreak investigation.
Question 7: The purpose of a facility antibiogram is to:
- Track which residents have been prescribed antibiotics in the past year
- Summarize local patterns of antimicrobial resistance to guide empiric antibiotic selection (Correct answer)
- List all antibiotics approved for use within the facility formulary
- Document adverse reactions to antibiotics reported by residents
Correct answer: Summarize local patterns of antimicrobial resistance to guide empiric antibiotic selection
An antibiogram summarizes local susceptibility data, helping clinicians choose the most effective empiric antibiotic therapy based on the pathogens and resistance patterns prevalent in the facility.
CSA Infection Control & Prevention 2
An administrator notices multiple residents on the same hall developing similar gastrointestinal symptoms within 48 hours.
What is the FIRST action the administrator should take?