CIC Practice Exam Questions with verified answers
A 16-year-old male is brought to the ER with a fever, and a wound on
his left leg that is draining purulent material. He complains of swelling
and pain. He is a quarterback on the high school football team and has
several turf burns on both legs. Past medical history is insignificant. The
culture grows gram-positive organisms in clusters. What is the most
likely differential diagnosis?
a. Parasitic infection
b. Atypical mycobacterium infection
c. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus
d. Streptococcus pyogenes Ans✓✓✓ C. Methicillin resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
Rationale: Athletes can contract CA-MRSA by close skin to skin contact,
sharing athletic equipment, sharing towels, razors, or other personal
items with someone who has an active infection or who is a carrier.
Athletes may get abrasions from artificial turf; these abrasions may
serve as an entry point for CA-MRSA.
A child presents to the ER with fever, headache, and sudden bright red
"slapped cheek" rash. Which virus is the likely cause?
Coxsackievirus
Human metapneumovirus
,Paramyxovirus
Parvovirus B19 Ans✓✓✓ d) Parvovirus B19, which can cause a bright
red facial rash in children referred to as a "slapped cheek" rash or Fifth
Disease. **A good resource is the Red Book for pediatric infectious
diseases**
A competency statement describes:
a. Responsible personnel.
b. Steps in a psychomotor skill.
c. Recommended performance measures.
d. Worker skill, knowledge, and mind set needed to perform a duty.
Ans✓✓✓ d. Worker skill, knowledge, and mind set needed to perform
a duty
A critical review of methods should include all of the following except:
Time period
Controls compatible to cases
Limitations/weaknesses
Study design designed in detail Ans✓✓✓ Limitations/weaknesses
A distribution curve that has a skew value of +3 will exhibit what shape?
Ans✓✓✓ An enlarged tail to the right. This is indicating there are more
,data than expected on the right (or positive) end of the distribution
curve. Skew is positive when the mean is greater than the median,
negative when the mean is lesser than the median. Value of 0 = normal
bell curve with no skew. Negative value = skew to the left.
A Gram stain indicates a Gram negative bacilli. What organism does it
most likely represent?
Staphylococcus aureus
Enterococcus faecium
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Clostridium perfringens Ans✓✓✓ c) Pseudomonas is the only Gram
negative organism on the list. S. aureus are Gram positive cocci; E.
faecium are Gram positive cocci; C. perfringens are Gram positive rods
A gram stain of cerebrospinal fluid showing gram negative diplococci
strongly suggest which of the following:
a. Aseptic Meningitis
b. Pneumococcal disease
c. Meningococcal disease
d. H. influenzae disease Ans✓✓✓ c) Meningococcal disease
, A healthcare facility is undergoing extensive renovation. Surveillance
for which of the following organisms would be particularly important
during any construction or renovation project in a healthcare facility?
a. MRSA, VRE, and other MDROs
b. Legionella and Aspergillus
c. Gram-negative bacilli
d. Mycobacterium abscessus Ans✓✓✓ b. Legionella and Aspergillus
A major difference between a prospective and a retrospective study is
that the prospective study:
a. Requires a relatively small number of subjects
b. Is usually used for testing initial hypotheses
c. May require a long follow-up period
d. Is usually less costly Ans✓✓✓ c. May require a long follow-up period
A new infection preventionist (IP) is preparing a report and wants to
describe the data. The simplest and crudest levels of measurements
should include which of the following?
A) rates
B) risk ratios
A 16-year-old male is brought to the ER with a fever, and a wound on
his left leg that is draining purulent material. He complains of swelling
and pain. He is a quarterback on the high school football team and has
several turf burns on both legs. Past medical history is insignificant. The
culture grows gram-positive organisms in clusters. What is the most
likely differential diagnosis?
a. Parasitic infection
b. Atypical mycobacterium infection
c. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus
d. Streptococcus pyogenes Ans✓✓✓ C. Methicillin resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
Rationale: Athletes can contract CA-MRSA by close skin to skin contact,
sharing athletic equipment, sharing towels, razors, or other personal
items with someone who has an active infection or who is a carrier.
Athletes may get abrasions from artificial turf; these abrasions may
serve as an entry point for CA-MRSA.
A child presents to the ER with fever, headache, and sudden bright red
"slapped cheek" rash. Which virus is the likely cause?
Coxsackievirus
Human metapneumovirus
,Paramyxovirus
Parvovirus B19 Ans✓✓✓ d) Parvovirus B19, which can cause a bright
red facial rash in children referred to as a "slapped cheek" rash or Fifth
Disease. **A good resource is the Red Book for pediatric infectious
diseases**
A competency statement describes:
a. Responsible personnel.
b. Steps in a psychomotor skill.
c. Recommended performance measures.
d. Worker skill, knowledge, and mind set needed to perform a duty.
Ans✓✓✓ d. Worker skill, knowledge, and mind set needed to perform
a duty
A critical review of methods should include all of the following except:
Time period
Controls compatible to cases
Limitations/weaknesses
Study design designed in detail Ans✓✓✓ Limitations/weaknesses
A distribution curve that has a skew value of +3 will exhibit what shape?
Ans✓✓✓ An enlarged tail to the right. This is indicating there are more
,data than expected on the right (or positive) end of the distribution
curve. Skew is positive when the mean is greater than the median,
negative when the mean is lesser than the median. Value of 0 = normal
bell curve with no skew. Negative value = skew to the left.
A Gram stain indicates a Gram negative bacilli. What organism does it
most likely represent?
Staphylococcus aureus
Enterococcus faecium
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Clostridium perfringens Ans✓✓✓ c) Pseudomonas is the only Gram
negative organism on the list. S. aureus are Gram positive cocci; E.
faecium are Gram positive cocci; C. perfringens are Gram positive rods
A gram stain of cerebrospinal fluid showing gram negative diplococci
strongly suggest which of the following:
a. Aseptic Meningitis
b. Pneumococcal disease
c. Meningococcal disease
d. H. influenzae disease Ans✓✓✓ c) Meningococcal disease
, A healthcare facility is undergoing extensive renovation. Surveillance
for which of the following organisms would be particularly important
during any construction or renovation project in a healthcare facility?
a. MRSA, VRE, and other MDROs
b. Legionella and Aspergillus
c. Gram-negative bacilli
d. Mycobacterium abscessus Ans✓✓✓ b. Legionella and Aspergillus
A major difference between a prospective and a retrospective study is
that the prospective study:
a. Requires a relatively small number of subjects
b. Is usually used for testing initial hypotheses
c. May require a long follow-up period
d. Is usually less costly Ans✓✓✓ c. May require a long follow-up period
A new infection preventionist (IP) is preparing a report and wants to
describe the data. The simplest and crudest levels of measurements
should include which of the following?
A) rates
B) risk ratios
