Question

The nurse has admitted a client on airborne precautions onto the medical-surgical unit. When the client asks, "When will these airborne precautions be removed?" what is the appropriate nursing response?

A.) "When your sputum culture is negative."
B.) "Until you leave the hospital."
C.) "Only until you begin to feel better."
D.) "For 2 days as you get settled onto the unit."

Answer 1

The airborne precautions will be removed when the sputum culture is negative.

Step-by-step explanation:

The appropriate nursing response to the client's question, 'When will these airborne precautions be removed?' is option A) 'When your sputum culture is negative.'

Airborne precautions are implemented to prevent the spread of infectious diseases that can be transmitted through tiny particles in the air. These precautions involve measures such as wearing a mask, using negative-pressure rooms, and maintaining proper hand hygiene.

In the given scenario, the client is on airborne precautions due to a positive sputum culture result for Legionella pneumophila, a bacterium that can cause severe pneumonia. Once the sputum culture is negative, it indicates that the client is no longer actively shedding the bacterium and the risk of transmission is reduced, allowing the removal of airborne precautions.