A patient with active Tuberculosis should be placed on additional precautions when providing care known as: precautions.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative organism of active tuberculosis, is transmitted via microscopic airborne droplet nuclei that are less than 5 microns in diameter. These tiny particles can remain suspended in the air for prolonged periods and travel over long distances, making airborne precautions essential. Airborne precautions require the patient to be placed in a negative-pressure airborne infection isolation room, and healthcare workers must wear an N95 or higher-filtration respirator — not a standard surgical mask — when entering the room. Standard precautions apply to all patient care but alone are insufficient for tuberculosis. Droplet precautions are used for organisms transmitted via larger respiratory droplets that travel only short distances, such as influenza or Neisseria meningitidis, and are inadequate for tuberculosis because they do not account for the smaller, longer-traveling droplet nuclei. Contact precautions address transmission via direct or indirect contact with the patient or their environment, such as MRSA or C. difficile, and are not the primary precaution for tuberculosis. Active pulmonary tuberculosis mandates airborne precautions above all, with contact and standard precautions applied concurrently as baseline care.