TL;DR
Study the principles of infection prevention including hand hygiene, PPE use, and transmission-based precautions. Infection control is one of the most heavily weighted sections on the CST Certified Surgical Technologist (NBSTSA).
Free Microbiology & Infection Control Practice Questions
CST Certified Surgical Technologist (NBSTSA) · Basic Science
This module covers Microbiology & Infection Control as part of the Basic Science section, testing your understanding of core concepts and their practical application.
| Exam | CST Certified Surgical Technologist (NBSTSA) |
| Pass Rate | 72% |
| Duration | 240 minutes |
| Module | Microbiology & Infection Control |
Why Microbiology & Infection Control matters
Microbiology & Infection Control is heavily weighted on the CST Certified Surgical Technologist (NBSTSA) because lapses in safety protocols directly threaten patient outcomes.
Sample Practice Questions (5)
1. The surgical technologist sustains a needlestick injury from a contaminated needle during a case involving a patient with unknown hepatitis status. What is the FIRST action the surgical technologist should take?
- Continue the case and report the injury after the procedure is completed
- Immediately remove gloves, wash the wound with soap and water, report the injury to the charge nurse, and initiate post-exposure protocol
- Apply alcohol to the puncture site and resume the procedure
- Squeeze the wound to express blood and then apply a bandage
2. Prion diseases (such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) present a unique challenge for sterilization because:
- Prions are destroyed by standard steam autoclaving at 270°F (132°C) for 4 minutes
- Prions are resistant to conventional sterilization methods; instruments require extended steam sterilization (134°C for 18 minutes in a prevacuum sterilizer) or sodium hydroxide soaking, and may require incineration
- Prions are easily killed by glutaraldehyde high-level disinfection
- Prion-contaminated instruments can be safely reused after standard ethylene oxide sterilization
3. Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) is a significant concern in healthcare settings. Which characteristic makes this organism particularly difficult to eliminate from the environment?
- It is a gram-negative rod that forms a protective biofilm
- It produces endospores that are resistant to alcohol-based hand sanitizers, most disinfectants, and heat, requiring bleach-based solutions or sporicidal agents for environmental decontamination
- It is a virus that can survive indefinitely on surfaces
- It is resistant to all known antibiotics
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Start practicing free →4. A herniorrhaphy (inguinal hernia repair) without break in aseptic technique and no entry into the gastrointestinal tract is classified as which type of surgical wound?
- Clean (Class I)
- Clean-contaminated (Class II)
- Contaminated (Class III)
- Dirty/infected (Class IV)
5. A surgical technologist is setting up for a total joint arthroplasty. The biological indicator (BI) from the previous sterilization cycle shows a positive result (bacterial growth detected) after incubation. What is the MOST appropriate action?
- Proceed with the case using the items from that load since the chemical indicator changed color appropriately
- Recall all items from that sterilization load, quarantine them, and re-sterilize or replace with items from a load with a negative BI
- Use the items but document the positive BI result for quality improvement review
- Wipe down the instruments with high-level disinfectant and proceed
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