Matching infections to transmission-based precautions

NCLEX-RN
Safety and Infection Control
Drag and drop
Difficulty 3 of 5

Question

The charge nurse is assigning rooms for clients admitted with the following infections. Drag each infection to the type of transmission-based precautions that should be added to standard precautions.

Contact precautions

Clostridioides difficile infection
Draining wound infected with vancomycin-resistant enterococci

Droplet precautions

Pertussis (whooping cough)
Influenza
Meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis

Airborne precautions

Pulmonary tuberculosis, confirmed
Measles (rubeola)

Answer

Contact precautions: Clostridioides difficile infection; Draining wound infected with vancomycin-resistant enterococci · Droplet precautions: Pertussis (whooping cough); Influenza; Meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis · Airborne precautions: Pulmonary tuberculosis, confirmed; Measles (rubeola)

Rationale

Precautions match the way an organism travels. Large respiratory droplets travel only short distances, so a mask is added. Tiny particles that stay suspended in the air need an airborne infection isolation room and a respirator. Organisms spread by touch with the client or the environment, including C. difficile and resistant organisms in wounds, call for a gown and gloves.

RememberTouch = contact; large droplets = droplet; suspended particles = airborne.

Sources

Sources marked “Adapted from” are licensed under CC BY 4.0. We changed the material: its facts are rewritten into an original question, answer options and rationale. The original authors and publishers do not endorse SwipeExam.

III. Precautions to Prevent Transmission of Infectious Agents (Source: CDC) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) · License: CDC content (credit required) · Retrieved November 2, 2026 · III.B.2. Droplet precautions.; Interim Measles Infection Control [July 2019]‎
Adapted from Open RN Nursing Skills, 2nd edition: Chapter 4 Aseptic Technique Open RN (Chippewa Valley Technical College) · License: CC BY 4.0 · Retrieved November 2, 2026 · Standard Versus Transmission-Based Precautions › Transmission-Based Precautions · 2nd edition, 2023
Appendix A: Type and Duration of Precautions Recommended for Selected Infections and Conditions (Source: CDC) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) · License: CDC content (credit required) · Retrieved November 2, 2026 · P; M; G
IV: Recommendations (Source: CDC) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) · License: CDC content (credit required) · Retrieved November 2, 2026 · Edit [February 2017] ‎
Clinical Overview of Measles (Source: CDC) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) · License: CDC content (credit required) · Retrieved November 2, 2026

Last verified: November 2, 2026 2 independent automated checks Question rn-sic-00307, version 1

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