A nurse is caring for a client who has active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The client requires airborne precautions and is receiving multidrug therapy. Which of the following precautions should the nurse take to transport the client safely to the radiology department for a chest x-ray?

When transporting a client with active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) outside an airborne infection isolation room, the standard and correct practice is to have the client wear a surgical mask to contain respiratory droplet nuclei. This protects other individuals along the transport route and in the receiving department. The client's mask prevents the dispersal of infectious particles into the environment. Notifying the x-ray department about airborne precautions is a reasonable courtesy measure that may reduce exposure time by ensuring the department is ready, but it is not the single most important intervention — having the client masked is the direct infection control action. Requesting a portable x-ray is sometimes done but is not always feasible or of equivalent diagnostic quality; moreover, the question asks about safe transport, so it implies transport will occur. The nurse wearing a filtration mask, such as an N95 respirator, is appropriate when inside the isolation room providing direct care, but simply wearing a mask and gloves during transport does not control the source of infectious particles — the client's respiratory secretions — as effectively as masking the client. Gloves alone do not prevent airborne transmission. Source control by masking the client at the point of origin remains the priority measure during transport.