Patient Safety & Quality Improvement USMLE Step 1 Practice Question
A hospital infection control team implements a bundle to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). The bundle includes using aseptic technique during insertion, securing the catheter properly, maintaining a closed drainage system, and daily reassessment of catheter necessity. After 12 months, the CAUTI rate decreases from 4.2 to 1.8 per 1,000 catheter-days. The team wants to determine if this improvement is statistically significant and sustained rather than due to random variation. Which of the following tools is most appropriate for this analysis?
Answer choices
- AFishbone diagram
- BPareto chart
- CStatistical process control chartCorrect answer
- DFailure mode and effects analysis
- ERun chart without statistical limits
- FBefore-and-after bar chart unable to distinguish true improvement
See the full explanation
Get the correct-answer rationale, why each distractor is wrong, the underlying mechanism, and high-yield associations — plus adaptive practice that targets your weak areas — with a free MedBoardPRO account.