Question

A nurse is developing a plan of care for a client who has active tuberculosis. Which of the following isolation precautions should the nurse include in the plan?

1) Contact isolation
2) Droplet isolation
3) Airborne isolation
4) Standard precautions

Answer 1

A client with active tuberculosis should be placed under airborne isolation to prevent the spread of the infection. This involves negative pressure rooms, use of N95 masks by healthcare workers, and strict hand hygiene and disinfection practices.

Step-by-step explanation:

The appropriate isolation precaution for a client with active tuberculosis (TB) is airborne isolation. TB is a highly contagious bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is spread through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks. Airborne isolation requires the nurse to place the patient in a room with negative pressure ventilation to prevent the spread of the infection through the air. The healthcare workers must wear N95 respirator masks when entering the room, alongside practicing stringent hand hygiene before and after contact with the patient. It is also critical to properly disinfect all items and surfaces that come into contact with the patient.