CHAPTER 11: Infection control in healthcare settings
1. Infection resulting from any investigative or treatment procedure is known as:
a) Secondary infection
b) Latent infection
c) Iatrogenic infection
d) Cross-infection
2. All the following are TRUE with regard to nosocomial infections EXCEPT:
a) Patients do not present with symptoms at the time of hospital admission
b) Patients are not in the incubation period of the disease at the time of hospital admission
c) Infection develops within 48–72 hours of hospital admission
d) Infection develops within 24 hours of hospital admission
3. A healthy adult woman underwent appendicectomy and on the seventh post-operative day,
she developed an infection at the incision site. What is the probable organism involved?
a) Staphylococcus species
b) Candida species
c) Pseudomonas species
d) Clostridium species
4. A man was hospitalised with second degree burns. After five days of hospital stay, he
developed an infection of the burn wounds. All the following bacteria are likely to be
involved in this case EXCEPT:
a) Pseudomonas species
b) Bacillus species
c) Proteus species
d) Klebsiella species
5. Which of the following is correct regarding ESKAPE pathogens?
a) They include E. coli, Staphylococcus (MRSA), Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas
and Enterobacter
b) They include Enterococcus, Staphylococcus (MRSA), Klebsiella, Acinetobacter,
Pseudomonas and Enterobacter
c) They include E. coli, Streptococcus, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and
Enterobacter
d) They include E. coli, Staphylococcus (MRSA), Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas
and Enterococcus
6. A 65-year-old ICU patient is suspected to have pneumonia 48–72 hours after endotracheal
intubation. Which of the following criteria is NOT TO be fulfilled before diagnosing
ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)?
a) Presence of hyper- or hypothermia
b) PO2 or FiO2 >240 or signs of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
c) Detection of a causative agent from endotracheal or bronchoalveolar lavage
d) Concurrent blood culture with growth of the same causative agent
7. A 22-year-old adult male was admitted 4 days ago with fever and hypotension. A central
line was inserted upon admission. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus was isolated from two
blood cultures taken on successive days. This patient should be classified as having:
a) No healthcare-associated infection
b) Community-acquired sepsis
c) Central line-associated bloodstream infection
d) Catheter-associated UTI with sepsis
8. Which of the following antibiotic is NOT associated with antibiotic-associated diarrhea?
a) Penicillin
b) Clindamycin
c) Vancomycin
d) Fluoroquinolones
9. Which of the following is a moment of hand hygiene?
a) Before touching a patient, even if gloves are to be worn
b) After contact with blood, body fluids or excretions or wound dressings
c) Prior to performing any aseptic task on patient
d) All of the above
10. Which of the following is NOT a part of the care bundle required before putting in a
central line?
a) Draping of the area with sterile linen (barrier precaution)
b) Chlorhexidine skin preparation is not required if the site is clean
c) Optimal or best catheter site for insertion
d) Daily review of insertion site and need for the line
11. A 50-year-old man develops surgical site infection on the eighth post-operative day. What
are the likely pathogens?
a) Staphylococci
b) Clostridia
c) Gram-negative bacilli
d) Gram-negative cocci
12. The recommended number of air changes per hour in a conventional operation theatre is:
a) 20 air changes per hour
b) 40 air changes per hour
c) 100 air changes per hour
d) 300 air changes per hour
13. The recommended number of air changes in a laminar flow operation theatre is:
a) 100 air changes per hour
b) 200 air changes per hour
c) 300 air changes per hour
d) 400 air changes per hour
14. The recommended time for the seven-step hand washing procedure is:
a) 5–10 seconds
b) 15–20 seconds
c) 25–30 seconds
d) 35–40 seconds
15. Common causative agents of catheter-associated UTI include all of the following
EXCEPT:
a) Klebsiella pneumoniae
b) Escherichia coli
c) Pseudomonas aeruginosa
d) Staphylococcus aureus
16. Biosafety level 1 type of laboratories will handle the following type of organisms:
a) Coagulase-negative S. aureus
b) Hepatitis virus
c) Ebola virus
d) Mycobacteria
17. A laboratory receives a specimen from an animal which died of anthrax. What is the
recommended level of biosafety (BSL) cabinet for handling this specimen?
a) BSL-1
b) BSL-2
c) BSL-3
d) BSL-4
18. District health authorities are planning to start investigating an outbreak of Marburg virus
disease. What is the recommended level of biosafety (BSL) cabinet to be procured for
handling this specimen?
a) BSL-1
b) BSL-2
c) BSL-3
d) BSL-4
19. In an ultraclean air operating theatre, the permitted bio-load during operation should be:
a) Less than 1 CFU/m3
b) Less than 10 CFU/m3
c) Between 10 and 20 CFU/m3
d) More than 20 CFU/m3
20. Yellow coloured bags should be used as per BMW-2016 rules to dispose all of the
following EXCEPT:
a) Clinical laboratory waste
b) Expired medicines
c) Contaminated plasticware
d) Contaminated body fluids
21. As per BMW-2016 rules, white translucent containers should be used for the disposal of:
a) Sharps waste
b) Contaminated glassware
c) Contaminated plasticware
d) Liquid chemical waste
22. Which of the following requires chemical treatment before disposal?
a) Contaminated recyclable plasticware
b) Clinical laboratory waste
c) Human anatomical waste
d) Soiled dressings
23. Which is the best method for disposal of human anatomical waste?
a) Chemical disinfection
b) Autoclaving
c) Incineration
d) Incarceration
24. Which is the recommended waste treatment for contaminated recyclable plasticware?
a) Incineration
b) Plasma pyrolysis
c) Chemical treatment and deep burial
d) Autoclaving and energy recovery
25. A student working in the clinical laboratory needs to discard the slides after examining
wet mounts. How should he discard these slides in accordance with Bio-Medical Waste
(Management and Handling) Rules, 2016?
a) Clear plastic/white coloured translucent boxes
b) Cardboard boxes with blue coloured marking
c) Red coloured boxes with blue coloured marking
d) Yellow coloured boxes with blue coloured marking
26. An orthopedic surgeon has removed an implant form the leg of a 70-year-old woman. The
hospital does not have access to a common biomedical waste treatment facility. What is the
correct procedure to discard this implant?
a) Autoclaving followed by washing and sending for recycling
b) Dipping in any disinfectant and sending for recycling
c) Simple washing and sending for recycling
d) Sending for recycling in a red chlorine-free plastic bag
