The nurse is preparing to send a culture for a patient who has a possible herpes zoster infection on the chest. Which action is appropriate?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

For lesions with vesicles or bullae, the lesion should be opened using sterile technique and a specimen obtained from the center of the lesion. Aspiration of bullae would present a risk of injury to the patient. Swabbing the area would be likely to result in obtaining normal skin flora rather than the infectious agent. Anaerobic cultures would be unnecessary for an infection on the skin of the chest and would unnecessarily increase the cost of the culture.

The Nurse Is Preparing to Send a Culture for a Patient