Nursing Acceleration Challenge Exam (NACE) PN-RN Practice Test 2025 – All-in-One Resource to Excel in Your Exam!

For a patient with a surgical-site infection characterized by purulent discharge, contact precautions are essential. This type of precaution is specifically designed to prevent the transmission of infectious agents that can be spread by direct or indirect contact with the patient or their environment. Surgical-site infections can often be caused by bacteria that may reside on the skin or in the wound, and purulent discharge indicates the presence of infectious material.

By implementing contact precautions, healthcare providers are minimizing the risk of spreading pathogens from the infected site to other patients or surfaces. This includes measures such as wearing gloves and gowns when entering the patient's room and ensuring proper cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and equipment.

While droplet precautions may be necessary for pathogens that spread via larger respiratory droplets, they are not required in this scenario, which focuses on a localized infection. Airborne precautions are also not appropriate since the infection related to a surgical site does not typically involve pathogens that become airborne. Thus, contact precautions effectively address the transmission risk associated with a surgical-site infection with purulent discharge.