Surgical Tech Sterile Processing Final Exam
35. Loaner instrument trays should:
be decontaminated and reprocessed before use.
loose fitting clothing and jewelry should NOT be worn in SPD because it
can get caught in moving equipment
a staff member brings several contaminated trays to the SPD on a cart and requests that replacement trays be put on the same cart. the technician should
clean and dry the transport cart and send it to distribution for the trays
an acceptable method of decontaminating an item that has been used on on a patient is to
clean with a detergent solution and then use an appropriate disinfection agent
supplies contaminated with blood and body fluids that require sterilization should be
cleaned, dried and passed on to the processing area for assembly, packaging, and sterilization
which of the following BEST describes the manual cleaning process of surgical instruments
cleaning/brushing the instrument beneath the water level
the effectiveness of any chemical disinfection process depends on all the following EXCEPT
cost of the chemical
28. When manually cleaning surgical instruments, the final rinse in the cleaning process should be performed using:
critical water
which of the following generally describes the correct sequence for the traffic workflow in areas in which medical devices are processed
decontamination, assembly, packaging, sterilization, sterile storage
every healthcare facility has an organizational structure or chart that outlines...
departmental authority relationships
A positive biological indicator (BI) test shows that sterilization process
did not result in the death of all the test organisms
material safety data sheets (MSDS) provide health and safety hazard and risk information on which of the following
electrical
which of the following agencies would approve the disinfectants used on floors and walls in the sterile processing distribution department
environmental protection agency (EPA)
healthcare workers are most likely to be infected by which of the following agents
hepatitis B
a liver biopsy would be performed to check for which disease
hepatitis c virus
which of the following items MUST be sterilized with an accompanying biological indicator
implants
nosocomial infections can be prevented by all of the following except:
increasing the patient length of stay
when lifting heavy objects, which of the following muscles should bear most of the weight
leg
cotton gauze cannot be used in which sterilization process?
low temperature gas plasma
if the operating room requests instruments for an emergency ruptured aortic aneurysm, the technician should send
major vascular instruments
clamps used for hemostasis are also designed to
minimize damage to tissue
the pH of detergent solution that has been demonstrated to be the safest for cleaning surgical instruments is
neutral
surgical grade instruments, if properly cared for, will last longer than floor grade instruments bc they have a ...
passivation layer
A broken glass suction bottle is returned to Decontamination. Which of the following should the technician do?
place it in an appropriate rigid container
warm up jackets are recommended to be worn in prep and packaging for the purpose of....
preventing bacterial shedding from bare arms
the function of the gastrointestinal system is to
provide the body with nutrients
when cleaning an IV pump, it is important to use a germicide on the pump surface in order to
reduce the bioburden present on the equipment
plastic sterilization bags are generally used to package
respiratory therapy items
when preparing the instruments from a dissection set for processing in a washer/decontaminator, the instruments should be positioned with the
retractors on the bottom of the basket and the hand held instruments on the top
while delivering sterile supplies to multiple nursing units, the SPD technician is asked by a unit secretary to take an opened and used tray of instruments back to the SPD decontamination area. which of the following is the BEST procedure to use
return for the used tray after completing all deliveries, using the appropriate collection cart
a tray of instruments has been brought to the decontamination area in a saline solution. Which of the following actions should the technician take
rinse them with water then clean them in the usual manner
after manually cleaning contaminated surgical instruments with a disinfectant solution, the NEXT step in the decontamination process is
rinsing
the growth of pathogenic bacteria in living tissue is called
sepsis
if it is not possible to wash contaminated instruments immediately after use, they should be kept moist by
spraying with an enzymatic foam, covering them with a towel moistened with water, and placing them in a plastic bag
containerized packaging systems are most commonly used to protect which of the following during steam sterilization
surgical instrument sets
5. A cleaning solution having a pH of 9 is said to be:
Alkaline
33. Under the current regulations, who is required to report suspected medical device related deaths to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration?
All of the above
23. Which of the following statements about emergency eye wash stations is TRUE?
An eyewash station should not be installed on a decontamination sink.
Standards for sterile processing are developed by the:
Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation.
26. Which of the following diseases is not caused by a virus?
CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease)
42. Opened but unused instrument sets should be:
Completely reprocessed
22. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act provides for which ethical issue?
Confidentiality
29. Which of the following pieces of equipment is sometimes used after a total knee replacement to exercise the joint?
Continuous passive motion device
48. All of the following are considered reservoirs of infection EXCEPT:
Gas
20. For which of the following chemicals is routine employee monitoring for exposure levels required?
Glutaraldehyde
11. Dual-ply wrap:
Has two wrappers which are bonded together.
8. According to Spaulding's classification of medical devices, a semi-critical item requires which form of disinfection?
High-level disinfection
13. Prior to packaging, large instrument sets should be placed:
In a perforated metal mesh basket.
4. The main reason why jewelry should NOT be worn in the decontamination area is because it:
Is not easily cleaned.
36. Which of the following statements about immediate use steam sterilization is TRUE?
It should be used only when there is not time to process items using the wrapped method.
41. Tamper evident seals on rigid containers include which of the following?
Latches and locks
39. Which of the following is NOT a reason for tracking supplies, equipment, and instruments?
Meeting Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements.
25. Which of the following pathogens causes tuberculosis?
Mycobacteria
46. Toxic Anterior Segment Syndrome is a concern on which of the following?
Ophthalmological instruments
16. Stock should be routinely rotated to reduce:
Outdated supplies
44. When placing sterile items on the shelf for storage, check:
Package integrity. An expiration date. Seals, locks, and filters to make sure they are intact. All of the above.
18. Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding high-level disinfection?
Protein soils can affect the disinfection process.
19. Quaternary ammonium compound disinfectants are:
Relatively non-toxic to humans.
10. Which of the following statements is TRUE? Packaging materials must:
Resist entry of microorganisms inside the pack.
34. Which of these traffic control/dress code requirements applies to the clean assembly area of the Sterile Processing Department?
Semi restricted
47. Which of the following is the appropriate course of action upon finding a wet pack?
Send the pack back to decontamination for reprocessing.
38. Which of the following common piece of patient care equipment limits the development of deep vein thrombosis and peripheral edema in patients?
Sequential compression device
9. Iodine is used primarily to reduce microorganisms on which of the following?
Skin
24. Which of the following is used to test the effectiveness of sterilization cycles?
Spores
32. The main theory of standard precautions is:
To treat all blood and body fluids as infectious.
7. Which of the following is NOT a recommended method to keep used instruments moist?
Transport in sterile water
49. Unless otherwise directed, an item high-level disinfected in glutaraldehyde must be rinsed a minimum of:
Two times.
12. Which of the following should be placed with each package to provide information on critical sterilization parameters?
Type 4 or higher chemical indicator
14. Which of the following lubricants is recommended for use on surgical instruments?
Water-based
17. Which of the following statements about sterility maintenance is TRUE?
When items are removed from the sterilizer, they should not be placed on a cool surface.
all of the following items of personal protective equipment (PPE) should be worn when manually decontaminating flexible fiber optic endoscopes except:
a lead apron
a patient contracts an infection from an improperly sterilized surgical instrument. this is an example of
a nosocomial infection
simultaneous wrapping means to wrap an instrument set with
a single non woven wrapper, double ply, bonded at the edges
when using the sequential wrapping method...
apply one wrapper followed by a second one
coronary artery bypass surgery may be performed on patients with
arteriosclerosis
A technician working in Decontamination notices that the maintenance person working on the washer/sterilizer did not remove the barrier attire when the person left the area to get additional tools. The technician should
ask the maintenance person to remove the barrier attire when leaving the area
27. One of the most common portals of exit in the transmission of disease is:
the respiratory tract
all of the following are classified as critical medical devices except:
thermometers
which of the following is the main DISADVANTAGE of using a rigid sterilization container system
they must be disassembled, processed, reassembled, and checked before each use
if a technicians skin is exposed to liquid ethylene oxide FIRST
wash the exposed area with large amounts of soap and water
When working the decontamination area, transmission of pathogenic organisms from used surgical instruments can BEST be minimized by
wearing appropriate personal protective equipment
inspection and verification of adequate cleaning is difficult with instruments with...
with lumens
"clean to dirty" is an SPD term used to describe
work flow
30. When packaging an item in a paper-plastic peel pouch, approximately how much space should be left between the item and the inside edges of the pouch?
1 inch
which of the following solutions is generally considered MOST appropriate for high level disinfection of semi critical devices
2% activated glutaraldehyde
15. Which of the following is the minimum exposure time for wrapped goods in a dynamic-air-removal (Prevacuum) steam cycle at 275℉ (135℃) and 28 to 30 pounds per square inch (psi)?
3 minutes
50. What color do Gram-positive microorganisms stain?
Blue or purple
37. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Class II chemical indicator that is run daily in dynamic air removal (prevacuum) sterilizers to detect the presence of air is called a:
Bowie-Dick test
45. Dark areas on the lens of an endoscope indicate:
Damaged light fibers
3. The use of physical or chemical means to remove, inactivate, or destroy bloodborne pathogens on the surface of an item is known as:
Decontamination
31. Soiled instruments and other items are received in the ___________ area of the Sterile Processing Department (SPD).
Decontamination
what are the major physical areas of a typical SPD
Decontamination, assembly and sterile processing, sterile storage and distribution
21. Alcohol inactivates microorganisms by:
Denaturing the proteins
Recommended practices are:
Statements of sound principles of practice that are based on scientific data and the opinions of experts.
43. When a soiled instrument is found during the assembly process:
The instrument and the tray it was in should be sent to the decontamination area for re-cleaning.
40. Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are provided by the ____________.
The manufacturer
6. Generally metal-bristled brushes can be used to clean:
The tungsten carbide jaws of needle holders
acrylic nails are not permitted to be worn in prep and packaging because they can
allow fungus to grow beneath them
an instrument tray for a laparotomy procedure must include
an abdominal retractor
generally, the first step in loosening blood soils from the channels of an instrument is to soak it in
an enzymatic detergent
