A patient develops high-grade fever and productive cough 60 hours after admission to the hospital. How is this condition classified?

Appeared in: PGIMER Nursing Officer - 2025

Explanation

Nosocomial infections are acquired during hospital care and not present or incubating at admission.
Infections occurring more than 48 hours after admission are considered nosocomial.
The patient's symptoms developed 60 hours after admission, fitting the nosocomial infection definition.
Timing is the key differentiator for classification.

Option B: Community-acquired infections are present or incubating before or within 24 hours of hospital admission, not after 48 hours.
Option C: Congenital infections are acquired in utero or during birth, not after hospital admission in adults.
Option D: Latent endemic infections refer to infections that persist in a population or individual without causing symptoms, not acute onset after hospitalization.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Safe nursing care depends on performing Classification of infection based on timing after hospital admission in the correct sequence, documenting the action clearly, and monitoring for the expected response.
Nurses must recognize nosocomial infections early to prevent outbreaks and implement infection control measures.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients.
What if? If the patient developed symptoms within 24 hours of admission, the infection would be classified as community-acquired, changing management and reporting protocols.

How to Approach the Question

Identify the timing of symptom onset relative to hospital admission.
Recall the definition and criteria for nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infection.
Eliminate options that do not fit the clinical scenario (e.g., congenital, latent, community-acquired).
Match the scenario to the correct classification based on timing and setting.
Use process-of-elimination for distractors that do not fit the timeline or patient context.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Classification of infection based on timing after hospital admission
Stem keywords: high-grade fever, productive cough, 60 hours after admission
Lead-in keywords: classified
Clinical cues: onset after 60 hours
Clinical cues: hospital setting

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E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 1 — Subpart C (pp 404-604 of 604) p. 25-27

E6 Nursing Fundamentals Taylor p. 167-169

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Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.