Which isolation precaution is recommended for patients with active tuberculosis?

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

Answer: (B)

Active tuberculosis spreads through tiny airborne particles that can stay suspended in the air and be inhaled by others. Because of this, the appropriate precaution is airborne isolation. This means placing the patient in an airborne infection isolation room that maintains negative pressure and adequate air changes to prevent contaminated air from escaping. Health care workers must wear fit-tested N95 respirators (or higher) whenever entering the room, and the patient should wear a mask when being transported or when leaving the room to reduce dispersion. Standard precautions alone won’t prevent transmission of TB, and droplet or contact precautions don’t address these small, linger­ing particles. Isolation is typically continued until the patient is no longer infectious per clinical policy.