CIC Exam 2025/2026 Exam Questions
and Corresponding Answers with Surety
of 100% Pass Mark
Chain of Infection - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔1)Infectious agent= organism with
ability to cause disease; greater virulence, invasiveness, and pathogenicity
=> increased odds of infection
2) Reservoir: place where microbes can persist and reproduce
3) Portal of Exit: way for microbe to leave the reservoir
4) Mode of transmission: method of microbe transfer from one place to
another
5) Portal of entry: opening that allows microbe to enter host
6) Susceptible host: Lacks immunity or physical resistance to prevent
invasion by microbe
,Is a circle; each link must be present in sequential order for infection to
occur
Virulence - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔Measure of microbe's ability to invade and
create disease
Depends on ability to:
Survive in environment between hosts
Transmit between hosts (moving; adherence)
Proliferate
IgM - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔Pentamer; primary response, short-lived (<6 months);
best at fixing complement
IgG - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔Monomer; main blood antibody, secondary response;
longer lived. opsonization and toxin neutralization. 4 subclasses
Physical barriers - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔Skin; fever; secreted antimicrobials;
innate immunity
Complement system - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔11=protein cascade; classically
activate by ab:ag complexes; alternate by pathogen surfaces
,Skin defects; examples and associated pathogens - 🧠 ANSWER
✔✔Wounds, burns, trauma, serious derm problems, indwelling devices,
injections. Skin flora- S. aureus, CNS, strep pyo, corynebacteria,
malassezia furfur
Mucous membrane barrier defects; examples and associated pathogens - 🧠
ANSWER ✔✔chemo-induced mucositosis, head/neck trauma, smoking,
inhalational injury, antacids/PPIs. Resident flora- anaerobes, aerobic GNR,
candida, enteroccus, bovis
Body passage obstruction; examples and associated pathogens - 🧠
ANSWER ✔✔Tumors, foreign bodies, stones, cystic fibrosis. Resident flora
overgrow or invade; site-specific.
Abnormal number or function of granulocytes - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔Leukemia,
chemo, congenital disorders, diabetes. If short term (< 2 wks) then aerobic
GNR, Sa, CoNS. IF long term, add fungi (candida, t. glabrata, aspergillus)
Abnormalities of cell-mediated immunity - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔BMT, HIV,
steroids, malnutrition, 3rd tri pregnancy. Bacteria: Intracellular pathogens
(listeria, salmonella, mycobacteria, nocardia, legionella).
COPYRIGHT©PROFFKERRYMARTIN 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025. COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 619652435. TERMS OF USE.
PRIVACY STATEMENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
, Fungi: candida, Cryptococcus, coccidioides, histoplasma. Virus: Herpes
group
Also toxoplasma and strongyloides.
abnormalities of humoral immunity - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔BMT, HIV, some
cancers, aging. Strep pneumo, encapsulated H. flu, Neisseria meningitidis
Preventing infection for immunocompromised patients - 🧠 ANSWER
✔✔Take thorough patient history. Prepare before starting with all vaccines,
procedures, line placement, screening. Support gastric acidity. Prevent
exposures with awesome hygiene, approp food and water precautions,
visitor education, no flowers or plants, and possible abx prophy (for
infections that might reactivate or high-risk for pneumocystis)
Mycoplasma spp. - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔No cell wall --> limited abx choices.
Cause atypical pneumonia. Usually diagnosed by serology
Chlamydiae - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔obligate intracellular parasites. Elementary
body=infectious, reticulated= intracellular. DFA or ELISA for detection of
antigen is most common. Can also detect antibodies.
Rickettsiae - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔obligate intracellular parasites. arthropod
vectors. Rarely culturing; detected by serology using ELISA for antibodies.
and Corresponding Answers with Surety
of 100% Pass Mark
Chain of Infection - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔1)Infectious agent= organism with
ability to cause disease; greater virulence, invasiveness, and pathogenicity
=> increased odds of infection
2) Reservoir: place where microbes can persist and reproduce
3) Portal of Exit: way for microbe to leave the reservoir
4) Mode of transmission: method of microbe transfer from one place to
another
5) Portal of entry: opening that allows microbe to enter host
6) Susceptible host: Lacks immunity or physical resistance to prevent
invasion by microbe
,Is a circle; each link must be present in sequential order for infection to
occur
Virulence - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔Measure of microbe's ability to invade and
create disease
Depends on ability to:
Survive in environment between hosts
Transmit between hosts (moving; adherence)
Proliferate
IgM - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔Pentamer; primary response, short-lived (<6 months);
best at fixing complement
IgG - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔Monomer; main blood antibody, secondary response;
longer lived. opsonization and toxin neutralization. 4 subclasses
Physical barriers - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔Skin; fever; secreted antimicrobials;
innate immunity
Complement system - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔11=protein cascade; classically
activate by ab:ag complexes; alternate by pathogen surfaces
,Skin defects; examples and associated pathogens - 🧠 ANSWER
✔✔Wounds, burns, trauma, serious derm problems, indwelling devices,
injections. Skin flora- S. aureus, CNS, strep pyo, corynebacteria,
malassezia furfur
Mucous membrane barrier defects; examples and associated pathogens - 🧠
ANSWER ✔✔chemo-induced mucositosis, head/neck trauma, smoking,
inhalational injury, antacids/PPIs. Resident flora- anaerobes, aerobic GNR,
candida, enteroccus, bovis
Body passage obstruction; examples and associated pathogens - 🧠
ANSWER ✔✔Tumors, foreign bodies, stones, cystic fibrosis. Resident flora
overgrow or invade; site-specific.
Abnormal number or function of granulocytes - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔Leukemia,
chemo, congenital disorders, diabetes. If short term (< 2 wks) then aerobic
GNR, Sa, CoNS. IF long term, add fungi (candida, t. glabrata, aspergillus)
Abnormalities of cell-mediated immunity - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔BMT, HIV,
steroids, malnutrition, 3rd tri pregnancy. Bacteria: Intracellular pathogens
(listeria, salmonella, mycobacteria, nocardia, legionella).
COPYRIGHT©PROFFKERRYMARTIN 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025. COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 619652435. TERMS OF USE.
PRIVACY STATEMENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
, Fungi: candida, Cryptococcus, coccidioides, histoplasma. Virus: Herpes
group
Also toxoplasma and strongyloides.
abnormalities of humoral immunity - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔BMT, HIV, some
cancers, aging. Strep pneumo, encapsulated H. flu, Neisseria meningitidis
Preventing infection for immunocompromised patients - 🧠 ANSWER
✔✔Take thorough patient history. Prepare before starting with all vaccines,
procedures, line placement, screening. Support gastric acidity. Prevent
exposures with awesome hygiene, approp food and water precautions,
visitor education, no flowers or plants, and possible abx prophy (for
infections that might reactivate or high-risk for pneumocystis)
Mycoplasma spp. - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔No cell wall --> limited abx choices.
Cause atypical pneumonia. Usually diagnosed by serology
Chlamydiae - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔obligate intracellular parasites. Elementary
body=infectious, reticulated= intracellular. DFA or ELISA for detection of
antigen is most common. Can also detect antibodies.
Rickettsiae - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔obligate intracellular parasites. arthropod
vectors. Rarely culturing; detected by serology using ELISA for antibodies.
