👤 By the CinnaRN Clinical Content Team🕐 Updated 2026-08-23🏷️ Safety & Infection Control🔖 Free to read, print, and share
Also known as: negative pressure isolation · N95 precautions · AII room precautions
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Use this quick-reference guide to spot, treat, and prevent Airborne Precautions on the NCLEX. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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📒 The 1-minute cheat sheet
📌 Who
TB, measles (rubeola), varicella
Disseminated zoster, SARS, COVID
✅ Do
N95/respirator, fit-tested
Negative-pressure room, door closed
Mask patient if transport needed
📌 Rule
Particles < 5 microns, stay suspended
6-12 air exchanges/hr
📌 Avoid
Never open door unnecessarily
📚 Airborne Precautions — full study notes
The cheat sheet above is your quick recall card. These notes go deeper — what it is, what to do first, what must be reported, and what to teach.
Airborne Precautions stop organisms carried in tiny droplet nuclei that stay suspended and travel long distances on air currents. They require a negative-pressure airborne infection isolation room and a fit-tested N95 respirator or PAPR. Remember the mnemonic My Chicken Hez TB: Measles, Chickenpox (varicella), Herpes zoster (disseminated), and Tuberculosis.
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Key points
Understand these first
Patient is placed in a negative-pressure room with the door kept closed at all times.
Staff wear a fit-tested N95 respirator or a PAPR, not a standard surgical mask.
The room exchanges air at least 6 to 12 times per hour and vents outside or through HEPA filtration.
Conditions include measles (rubeola), varicella, disseminated herpes zoster, and pulmonary tuberculosis.
Immune (history of disease or vaccination) staff are preferred to care for measles and varicella patients.
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Nursing priorities
What to do, in order
Place the patient in a negative-pressure airborne isolation room and keep the door closed.
Don a fit-tested N95 respirator before entering the room.
Mask the patient with a surgical mask if transport off the unit is unavoidable.
Verify the room maintains negative pressure each shift.
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Red flags — report now
Escalate immediately
Never substitute a surgical mask for an N95 for staff caring for an airborne-isolation patient.
Do not leave the isolation room door open; it defeats negative pressure.
Report any door-open or pressure-alarm event immediately.
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Patient teaching
What patients must know
The patient must wear a surgical mask any time they leave the negative-pressure room.
Active TB patients need adherence to the full multidrug regimen to become noninfectious.
❓ Airborne Precautions: NCLEX FAQs
What are the priority nursing interventions for Airborne Precautions?
Place the patient in a negative-pressure airborne isolation room and keep the door closed. Don a fit-tested N95 respirator before entering the room. Mask the patient with a surgical mask if transport off the unit is unavoidable. Verify the room maintains negative pressure each shift.
What are the warning signs of Airborne Precautions a nurse must report?
Never substitute a surgical mask for an N95 for staff caring for an airborne-isolation patient. Do not leave the isolation room door open; it defeats negative pressure. Report any door-open or pressure-alarm event immediately.
What do I need to know about Airborne Precautions for the NCLEX?
Patient is placed in a negative-pressure room with the door kept closed at all times. Staff wear a fit-tested N95 respirator or a PAPR, not a standard surgical mask. The room exchanges air at least 6 to 12 times per hour and vents outside or through HEPA filtration. Conditions include measles (rubeola), varicella, disseminated herpes zoster, and pulmonary tuberculosis.
What patient teaching is important for Airborne Precautions?
The patient must wear a surgical mask any time they leave the negative-pressure room. Active TB patients need adherence to the full multidrug regimen to become noninfectious.
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Quick Tip
Patient is placed in a negative-pressure room with the door kept closed at all times.