Standard and additional precautions
The hygiene rules of care: standard precautions for every patient, hand hygiene, gloves and dress, additional contact, droplet and airborne precautions (surgical or FFP2 mask), and what to do after a blood exposure accident.
- 31 cards
- 3 topics
- Free
The outline, topic by topic
Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
- Concepts
- Scenarios
- Understand
A few cards from the deck
Standard precautions: what is it?
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Measures applied to every patient, whatever their infectious status: hand hygiene, gloves, protection of clothing, handling of excreta and sharps.
Every patient is considered a potential carrier.
A patient is admitted with contagious pulmonary tuberculosis. Which precautions?
- Airborne: FFP2 for carers, single room with the door closed
- Droplet, with a surgical mask only
- Contact only
- No precaution
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Airborne: FFP2 for carers, single room with the door closed
The bacilli stay suspended in the room's air.
Alcohol-based hand rub: what is it?
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The reference hand hygiene technique, on dry and clean hands, before and after each act of care.
It is more effective, faster and better tolerated than washing.
Why do standard precautions apply to every patient?
- To simplify records
- Because every patient is ill
- They only apply to infected patients
- One cannot always know who carries an infectious agent
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One cannot always know who carries an infectious agent
They protect patient and carer both ways.
Handwashing with soap: what is it?
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Washing with water and mild soap when hands are visibly soiled, or for Clostridioides difficile or scabies.
It mechanically removes what alcohol does not destroy.
A patient has flu. Which additional precaution?
- Airborne: FFP2 and closed door
- Droplet: surgical mask
- None
- Sterile protective isolation
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Droplet: surgical mask
Flu spreads mainly through large droplets at short range.