Free NCLEX RN Questions on Health Promotion and Maintenance Nursing Practice Question
Which information given by a 70-year-old patient during a health history indicates to the nurse that the patient should be screened for hepatitis C?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct answer is 'The patient used IV drugs about 20 years ago.' Any patient with a history of IV drug use should be tested for hepatitis C due to the increased risk of transmission through sharing needles. Blood transfusions given after 1992, when an antibody test for hepatitis C became available, do not pose a risk for hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is not spread by the oral-fecal route, so contaminated food or traveling to countries with poor sanitation are not direct risk factors for hepatitis C.