Hepatitis A question

[amazingaloha]

I encountered this question but not sure of the rationale.

A nurse will take care of Hep A pt, what precaution should the nurse indicate essential?

a. should the nurse wear a gown entering client's rm

b. should the nurse wear mask when providing care

c. should the client be assigned to a private rm

c. should the nurse wear gloves when giving direct care

I used my own words to rephrase the question. Thank you.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

What do you know about Hep A and what is the answer you think it is with your reasoning?

this way we can see if you understand the condition

[amazingaloha]

I thought the answer was d. wearing gloves when giving direct care bec Hep A and E are transfered through fecal/oral and B, C, D and G are through blood transfusion, sex and so on.

The correct answer was 2. Wear a mask when providing care BUT WHY???? It's not airborne.

[Letjackson987RN]

challenging question!

let's see:

Hep A transmission: fecal/oral, foods that are contaminated and from contamined water (shellfish), poor sanitation.

letter a: gowns are only use if there's a chance of body fluid contact and for protection.

letter b: it's a standard precaution to use mask when providing care (suits for Hep A-standard-fecal/oral route)

letter c: not necessary (for airborne, droplet, contact precaution) and we can cohort depends on epidemiology/transmission

letter d: one should wear esp. when contacting with the patient. (actually in and out of the room basis) yet we should give more priority in the fecal/oral transmission that lead us in wearing mask. gloves alone is not enough. we could prevent transmission by handwashing which is done in every patient encounter. :typing

[amazingaloha]

That makes sense. I hope that I would be able to answer this question when I sit for Nclex bec for me this is a really tricky question and honestly gloves vs mask, I'd choose gloves. Thanks for some enlightenment! Did you look it up somewhere or you just answered it yourself critically? Just the thought bec sometimes I feel that I don't think that way or I still need to improve my critical thinking skills. Thanks!