The patient who recently immigrated to the United States from Bangladesh presents to the emergency department with cough with bloody sputum and fever. A chest x-ray shows patchy infiltrates in the upper right lobe. Which action does the nurse take first?

Don an N95 respirator. The patient’s symptoms and chest x-ray are consistent with tuberculosis. Even though diagnosis has not been confirmed, the nurse should don an N95 respirator prior to any further contact with the patient. Once the nurse is protected and the patient is placed in an isolation room, the nurse should obtain sputum cultures, blood cultures, and HIV serology. A CT scan can also be helpful in determining the severity of the patient’s disease.

The patient who recently immigrated to the United States from Ban...

Category: Safety and Infection Control
Difficulty: 5

Topics: Radiology Respiratory

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