A patient with suspected tuberculosis requires which category of precautions?

• A. Standard precautions
• B. Contact precautions
• C. Droplet precautions
• D. Airborne precautions

Answer: (D)

Airborne spread of tuberculosis occurs through tiny droplet nuclei that can linger in the air, so suspected TB requires airborne precautions. This means placing the patient in a private room with negative-pressure ventilation and keeping the door closed to prevent contaminated air from escaping. The room should exhaust air to the outside or filter it with high-efficiency filtration so it isn’t recirculated. Healthcare workers entering the room must wear a properly fitted respirator, such as an N95, to protect themselves from inhaling the infectious particles. If the patient needs to be transported, they should wear a mask to minimize dispersion. Standard precautions apply to all patients, but airborne precautions add the specific measures needed to prevent TB transmission. Airborne precautions are continued until the patient is no longer infectious according to policy and test results.