RN Nursing · Pneumonia · Practice question
The nurse is caring for a patient with pneumonia with a new nurse in orientation. Which of the following statements by the new nurse would indicate an understanding of the nature of this condition?
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"An infectious disease like pneumonia may or may not be contagious."
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"We need to isolate the patient in a negative pressure room."
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"The patient will not be able to return home."
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"Clinical signs and symptoms are not present in pneumonia."
Answer & explanation
Correct: "An infectious disease like pneumonia may or may not be contagious."
Pneumonia is an infection of the lung parenchyma that can be caused by a wide variety of pathogens — bacteria, viruses, fungi, or aspirated material. Whether pneumonia is contagious depends on its cause and the immune status of contacts. For example, community-acquired bacterial pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae can spread via respiratory droplets, while aspiration pneumonia caused by aspiration of gastric contents is not contagious at all. Therefore, the statement that an infectious disease like pneumonia may or may not be contagious accurately reflects this variability and demonstrates correct understanding. The statement that the patient needs to be placed in a negative pressure (airborne precautions) room is incorrect for most pneumonias; negative pressure isolation is reserved for airborne-transmission diseases such as tuberculosis or measles. The claim that the patient will not be able to return home is false, as many patients with pneumonia are managed as outpatients or are successfully discharged home after treatment. The assertion that clinical signs and symptoms are not present in pneumonia is factually wrong — pneumonia classically presents with fever, productive cough, dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and decreased breath sounds or crackles on auscultation.
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