Free NCLEX RN Questions on Health Promotion and Maintenance Nursing Practice Question
A hospitalized client diagnosed with active pulmonary tuberculosis has been receiving multidrug therapy for the past month and is being prepared for discharge. Which finding indicates that respiratory isolation is no longer required and that medication therapy has been effective?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The primary laboratory test for pulmonary tuberculosis is a sputum culture. A negative culture indicates the effectiveness of treatment. Clay-colored stools, nausea, and vomiting are side effects of the medication that is used to treat tuberculosis; their presence or absence does not measure the therapeutic effectiveness of the medication. The tuberculin skin test is a screening tool rather than a diagnostic test for tuberculosis. Because the tuberculin skin test indicates exposure to the organism but not active disease, the test results will remain positive.