CRCST practice questions

Departmental Considerations: CRCST practice questions and answers

Workflow, airflow and environmental controls, microbiology, infection prevention and the agencies that set the rules. This topic is about 15% of the CRCST exam. Try each question before opening the answer.

1. 1. A technician finishes assembling an instrument tray in the prep and packaging area and realizes she left her reading glasses in the decontamination room. What is the correct way to retrieve them?

   • A. Walk in quickly without PPE since she will not touch any instruments
   • B. Don the required decontamination PPE before entering, then follow the department's traffic rules when returning
   • C. Ask a decontamination coworker to carry them through the pass-through washer
   • D. Enter decontamination, then go straight back to the assembly table without changing
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   B. Don the required decontamination PPE before entering, then follow the department's traffic rules when returning

   Anyone entering decontamination must wear the PPE required for that area, and attire worn there must not be carried back into clean areas. Rushing in without PPE exposes her to aerosols and splashes, and returning directly to the assembly table without removing that attire defeats one-way traffic flow.

2. 2. Which sequence correctly describes the one-way flow of instruments through a sterile processing department?

   • A. Preparation and packaging, decontamination, sterilization, sterile storage
   • B. Decontamination, sterilization, preparation and packaging, sterile storage
   • C. Sterile storage, decontamination, preparation and packaging, sterilization
   • D. Decontamination, preparation and packaging, sterilization, sterile storage
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   D. Decontamination, preparation and packaging, sterilization, sterile storage

   Items move from dirty to clean: they are cleaned in decontamination, inspected and packaged in prep and pack, sterilized, then held in sterile storage. Sterilizing before packaging would leave items unprotected after the cycle, so that order is incorrect.

3. 3. Compared with the surrounding corridors, the decontamination area should be maintained at what air pressure?

   • A. Positive pressure, so air flows out of the room
   • B. Neutral pressure, with no directional airflow
   • C. Negative pressure, so air flows into the room
   • D. Positive pressure only while washers are running
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   C. Negative pressure, so air flows into the room

   Decontamination is kept under negative pressure so contaminated aerosols stay in the room rather than drifting into clean areas. Positive pressure is used for clean areas such as prep and pack and sterile storage, where the goal is to push air out and keep contaminants away.

4. 4. A new technician arrives to work in the prep and pack area with a short beard partly uncovered and hair escaping the sides of his cap. What should the lead technician tell him?

   • A. All head and facial hair must be fully covered in clean work areas
   • B. Facial hair only needs to be covered in the decontamination area
   • C. A cap is optional if he works more than six feet from open trays
   • D. Hair coverage only matters when entering an operating room
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   A. All head and facial hair must be fully covered in clean work areas

   Hair and skin shed particles and microorganisms, so head and facial hair must be completely covered where items are inspected, assembled and packaged. Limiting the requirement to decontamination misses the point that clean areas are where shedding onto packages matters most.

5. 5. A surgeon tells sterile processing that instruments were used on a patient with suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. What should the technician do first?

   • A. Process the instruments with the usual washer cycle and standard sterilization
   • B. Soak the instruments in a low-level disinfectant overnight before processing
   • C. Follow the facility's prion policy, since routine processing may not inactivate prions
   • D. Place the instruments in sterile storage until the diagnosis is confirmed
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   C. Follow the facility's prion policy, since routine processing may not inactivate prions

   Prions resist standard cleaning and sterilization, so facilities have specific policies, often involving quarantine or special processing, for suspected CJD cases. Routine processing could leave infectious prions on instruments, and low-level disinfectants are not effective against them.

6. 6. Under standard precautions, how should sterile processing staff treat used instruments returned from surgery?

   • A. As potentially infectious, regardless of the patient's known diagnosis
   • B. As infectious only when the patient had a documented infection
   • C. As clean if no visible blood is present
   • D. As infectious only if they came from an isolation room
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   A. As potentially infectious, regardless of the patient's known diagnosis

   Standard precautions assume that blood and body fluids from every patient may be infectious, so all used items are handled the same way. Waiting for a diagnosis or visible blood would miss many unrecognized infections.

7. 7. A technician is unsure how long a specific power drill attachment should be exposed in a steam sterilizer. Where should she look first?

   • A. The settings used for a similar device from another company
   • B. The device manufacturer's instructions for use (IFU)
   • C. A coworker's recollection of the usual cycle time
   • D. The sterilizer's default cycle printed on the front panel
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   B. The device manufacturer's instructions for use (IFU)

   The manufacturer's IFU gives the validated cleaning and sterilization parameters for that device. Using settings meant for a different device or relying on memory risks an ineffective cycle or damage to the device.

8. 8. A technician needs information about the hazards and required PPE for a new enzymatic detergent. Which document should she consult?

   • A. The sterilizer operator's manual
   • B. The department's instrument count sheets
   • C. The facility's infection prevention annual report
   • D. The Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for the product
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   D. The Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for the product

   Under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard, the SDS describes a chemical's hazards, handling precautions, PPE and first aid. The other documents do not contain chemical-specific safety information.