CDT Wound Care & Healing 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which pressure injury stage involves full-thickness skin loss with visible fat but no exposed bone, tendon, or muscle?
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Stage 3 (Correct answer)
- Stage 4
Correct answer: Stage 3
Stage 3 pressure injuries involve full-thickness tissue loss where subcutaneous fat may be visible but bone, tendon, and muscle are not exposed.
Question 2: Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) promotes healing by all of the following EXCEPT:
- Removing excess exudate
- Promoting granulation tissue formation
- Increasing bacterial load in the wound (Correct answer)
- Reducing wound edema
Correct answer: Increasing bacterial load in the wound
NPWT reduces bacterial load in wounds; it does not increase it, making option C incorrect.
Question 3: A diabetic patient presents with a plantar foot ulcer with callus surrounding the wound edges. The most appropriate initial intervention is:
- Apply silver-containing dressing
- Perform sharp debridement of the callus (Correct answer)
- Start systemic antibiotics
- Apply compression bandaging
Correct answer: Perform sharp debridement of the callus
Sharp debridement of surrounding callus removes hyperkeratotic tissue that traps pressure and inhibits wound edge migration.
Question 4: Which topical agent is contraindicated in wounds that are healing by secondary intention due to cytotoxicity to fibroblasts?
- Normal saline
- Petrolatum gauze
- Full-strength hydrogen peroxide (Correct answer)
- Collagen-based dressing
Correct answer: Full-strength hydrogen peroxide
Full-strength hydrogen peroxide is cytotoxic to fibroblasts and granulation tissue and is contraindicated in healing wounds.
Question 5: During wound assessment, the measurement of 3 cm x 4 cm refers to which dimensions by convention?
- Width x Depth
- Length x Width (Correct answer)
- Depth x Width
- Circumference x Depth
Correct answer: Length x Width
By convention, wound measurements are recorded as length (head-to-toe axis) x width (side-to-side axis).
Question 6: What is the recommended moisture level for optimal wound healing?
- Completely dry environment
- Moist but not macerated (Correct answer)
- Saturated with saline
- Alternating wet and dry cycles
Correct answer: Moist but not macerated
A moist wound environment accelerates epithelial cell migration and prevents desiccation, but excessive moisture causes maceration.
Question 7: A wound with undermining is best described as tissue loss that extends:
- Straight down into deeper tissue layers
- Laterally beneath intact wound edges (Correct answer)
- Through the full dermis to subcutaneous tissue
- Along the direction of lymphatic flow
Correct answer: Laterally beneath intact wound edges
Undermining refers to tissue destruction extending under the wound edges, creating a pocket beneath intact skin.
Which pressure injury stage involves full-thickness skin loss with visible fat but no exposed bone, tendon, or muscle?