Chapter 5 - Performance Improvement in the Microbiology Laboratory - Review Questions

Quality control is designed to

a. ensure the medical reliability of lab data

b. check media

c. check reagents

d. monitor incubator and refrigerator temperatures

a. ensure the medical reliability of lab data

Actual laboratory testing is called a

a. preanalytic activity

b. analytic activity

c. postanalytic activity

d. research activity

b. analytic activity

All of the following activities will directly affect the quality of a laboratory test, except

a. preanalytic

b. analytic

c. accreditation

d. postanalytic

c. accreditation

All of the following activities are included in a laboratory quality control program, except

a. air quality

b. temperatures

c. media

d. antimicrobial susceptibility testing

d. antimicrobial susceptibility testing

Thermometers used in the laboratory must be calibrated before they are put into use. This is accomplished by

a. sending it to the NIST to determine its accuracy

b. checking against an NIST thermometer

c. measuring the grades to make sure they are the standard size and accurate

d. using a colored dye

b. checking against an NIST thermometer

Preventive maintenance on an instrument includes all the following, except

a. disinfecting the surface of the instrument

b. oiling and cleaning the instrument

c. replacing filters

d. recalibrating instruments

d. recalibrating instruments

Commercial media must have QC testing performed by the manufacturer. Because of high failure rates, all of the following media must be retested by the hospital laboratory, except

a. Campylobacter media

b. selective media for pathogenic Neisseria

c. trypticase soy agar with 5% sheep blood

d. chocolate

c. trypticase soy agar with 5% sheep blood

Media that do not need to be retested by the hospital lab must still undergo observation for all of the following, except

a. moisture

b. sterility

c. breakage

d. organism colony characteristics

d. organism colony characteristics.

Reagents that should undergo quality control in the microbiology lab include all the following, except

a. optochin

b. immersion oil

c. B-lactamase

d. nitrate

b. immersion oil

In any susceptibility system, variables that can affect the results include the following:

1. antibiotic potency

2. inoculum concentration

3. bactericidal level

4. pH

5. anion content

a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct

b. 1, 3, 4, and 5 are correct

c. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are correct

d. 1, 2, and 4 are correct

d. 1, 2, and 4 are correct.

How can personnel competency be determined

a. asking an employee to explain how to do a test

b. proficiency testing

c. asking another employee to comment on someone’s competency

d. assuming competency from one’s credentials

b. proficiency testing.

QC stock cultures are available from all of the following, except

a. American type culture collection (ATCC)

b. commercial sources

c. proficiency testing isolates

d. CDC

d. CDC

Customers of a lab include all the following, except

a. patients

b. insurers

c. doctors

d. accrediting organizations

d. accrediting organizations.

What is benchmarking

a. identifying a problem to be fixed

b. seeking an industry’s or professions best practices to imitate and improve

c. explaining why a problem occurred

d. asking the CEOs opinion and going with his or her idea

b. seeking an industry’s or profession's best practices to imitate and improve.

When performing tests in the microbiology lab, the detection limit of a test refers to the ___ of that test

a. analytic specificity

b. analytic sensitivity

c. clinical sensitivity

d. clinical specificity

b. analytic sensitivity

A test is performed on a group of 10 patients. 6 patients have a disease, and 4 are free of the disease. If 6 patients (all known to have the disease) of this group test positive for the disease,we say that the clinical sensitivity of this test it

a. 60%

b. 40%

c. 50%

d. 100%

d. 100%

A test can have both a positive and a negative predictive value. All the following elements are needed to compute the positive and PPV and NPV of a test, except

a. sensitivity of a test

b. specificity of a test

c. type of disease being tested

d. prevalence of the disease being tested

c. type of disease being tested.