10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
These 10 free CIC questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Certified in Infection Control blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
Domain 1: Identification of Infectious Disease Processes
Question 1
The attending documents a sacral pressure ulcer requiring daily wound care but does not state its stage. An authenticated wound-care nurse's assessment identifies stage 3, describing full-thickness skin loss with visible subcutaneous fat and no exposed deeper supporting structures. The record contains no conflicting assessment. What documentation approach supports reporting the ulcer?
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Correct answer: A - Use the wound-care nurse's documented stage 3 with the attending's pressure-ulcer diagnosis.
Question 2
A receiving emergency physician urgently requests a recently discharged patient's medication history and latest laboratory results. The patient is now unconscious at that physician's hospital, and no representative can be reached. HIM has verified the requester and treatment purpose; no additional legal restriction applies to these records. How should HIM respond under HIPAA?
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Correct answer: A - Release the requested identifiable records securely for treatment without waiting for patient authorization.
Domain 2: Surveillance and Epidemiologic Investigation
Question 3
Preadmission records for a 74-year-old with established chronic kidney disease show eGFR values of 39, 41, and 37 mL/min/1.73 m² over eight months. During an admission for dehydration, eGFR falls to 22, and the attending diagnoses superimposed acute kidney injury without specifying the CKD stage. Which GFR category best represents the chronic baseline to consider in a staging query, rather than the acute decline?
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Correct answer: D - G3b - moderately to severely decreased filtration.
Domain 3: Preventing and Controlling the Transmission of Infectious Agents
Question 4
Sepsis chiefly occasioned an adult patient's acute-care admission. The final diagnoses are severe sepsis due to pneumonia, organism unspecified, and acute kidney injury caused by the sepsis. All were present on admission, and septic shock is explicitly ruled out. Which principal-diagnosis and additional-code assignment is appropriate?
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Correct answer: C - A41.9 as principal; R65.20, N17.9, and J18.9 as additional diagnoses.
Question 5
An operative report describes laparoscopic removal of the gallbladder's fundus and body, with part of its posterior wall deliberately left attached to the liver. All dissection is completed under laparoscopic visualization; a port incision is then enlarged solely to extract the specimen. No replacement material is implanted. Select the ICD-10-PCS code for the gallbladder tissue removal.
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Correct answer: B - 0FB44ZZ - Excision of Gallbladder, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach.
Question 6
At 9:00 a.m., a patient registers for an outpatient central venous catheter procedure. At 11:00 a.m., the physician documents a procedure-related pneumothorax. An inpatient admission order is written at 2:00 p.m. for treatment of that complication. The pneumothorax code is not exempt from present-on-admission reporting. Which POA indicator belongs on the inpatient claim?
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Correct answer: D - Y - Present on admission.
Domain 4: Cleaning Disinfection and Sterilization
Question 7
An IPPS hospital performs an outpatient diagnostic CT at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. At 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 12, the same hospital admits the patient for an unrelated condition under Original Medicare Part A. How should the hospital bill its diagnostic service?
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Correct answer: A - Include the CT on the inpatient claim; the window covers the three calendar days before admission.
Question 8
A prebill validation removes the only MCC after the attending confirms that it describes a resolved illness from an earlier admission. The remaining diagnosis on the CC list is excluded from CC consideration with this principal diagnosis. No other diagnosis affects severity. For this case, the grouper's relative weights are 1.75 with MCC, 1.35 with CC, and 1.10 without CC/MCC. The hospital's wage-adjusted operating base rate is $6,400. Before capital payments or other adjustments, what operating DRG payment is supported?
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Correct answer: B - $7,040.
Domain 6: Environment of Care
Question 9
Utilization review confirms that an Original Medicare patient's Part A inpatient stay remains medically necessary and covered. Before providing one proposed diagnostic service, the hospital determines that the service alone is not medically necessary and will not be covered. Which notice addresses that noncovered service within the otherwise covered stay?
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Correct answer: C - HINN 11 - Noncovered Item(s) or Service(s).
Domain 7: Education and Research
Question 10
On a hospital's PEPPER report, a target area's rate is 12%, placing the hospital at the 88th national percentile. A finance manager interprets this as evidence that 88% of the area's claims were paid incorrectly. What conclusion should the compliance analyst present instead?
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Correct answer: B - Use the high percentile to prioritize a focused review; it does not establish an error or overpayment rate.