A nurse is caring for a client with a short-term central venous catheter. For each action, select the best infection-prevention classification.
Matrix
Choose your responses, then check the answer.
Explanation
Prevent central-line infection with hand hygiene, aseptic access, antiseptic hub scrubbing, sterile devices, and prompt replacement of damp, loose, or soiled dressings. Review line necessity daily and remove nonessential catheters. Skipping disinfection, touching prepared sites, or continuing a disrupted dressing increases contamination risk.
Quick answer Protect every central-line entry point: clean hands, disinfect the access port, use sterile devices, maintain the dressing, and remove the line when it is no longer essential.
Why this is correct Microorganisms can enter through the insertion site or contaminated connector. Hand hygiene, aseptic technique, appropriate antisepsis, intact sterile dressings, and fewer unnecessary catheter days reduce opportunities for bloodstream infection.
Easy analogy or mental picture A central line is a direct doorway into the bloodstream. Keep the doorway clean, sealed, and open only when needed.
Memory hook Clean hands, scrub the port, protect the site, remove the unnecessary line.
NCLEX decision rule Perform hand hygiene before and after catheter access or dressing care. Scrub the access port with an appropriate antiseptic and use sterile devices. Replace damp, loose, or visibly soiled dressings and maintain aseptic technique; promptly remove catheters that are no longer essential.
Why the other choices are wrong Skipping the port scrub, touching a disinfected site without aseptic technique, submerging the catheter, or continuing a damp lifting dressing creates avoidable contamination risk.
The nurse follows the facility's central-line maintenance bundle, uses an appropriate antiseptic for the needleless connector, maintains aseptic technique, inspects the dressing and insertion site, and reviews whether the catheter remains essential each day.
CLABSI — A laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection associated with a central line when another infection source is not identified.
Needleless connector — A valve or access component that permits connection to an intravascular catheter without a needle.
Aseptic technique — Practices that prevent contamination of critical sites and sterile equipment during catheter access and care.