Wound Care Certification Exam Wound Care Certification Infection Management and Antimicrobials 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which clinical sign is MOST indicative of wound infection rather than normal inflammation?
- Wound warmth
- Periwound erythema
- Increasing wound pain after initial improvement (Correct answer)
- Serous exudate
Correct answer: Increasing wound pain after initial improvement
Increasing pain after initial improvement (secondary worsening) is a hallmark sign of wound infection rather than normal healing inflammation.
Question 2: What is the gold standard for diagnosing wound infection?
- Visual inspection for purulence
- Quantitative wound tissue biopsy culture (Correct answer)
- Swab culture of wound surface
- Elevated serum CRP
Correct answer: Quantitative wound tissue biopsy culture
Quantitative tissue biopsy with ≥10^5 organisms per gram of tissue is the gold standard for diagnosing wound infection.
Question 3: Which bacterial count per gram of tissue indicates critical colonization or infection?
- 10^2
- 10^3
- 10^5 (Correct answer)
- 10^7
Correct answer: 10^5
A bacterial load of ≥10^5 organisms per gram of tissue is considered the diagnostic threshold for wound infection.
Question 4: What does the acronym NERDS stand for in wound infection assessment?
- Necrosis, Exudate, Redness, Drainage, Swelling
- Non-healing, Exudate increase, Red friable tissue, Debris, Smell (Correct answer)
- Necrosis, Edema, Red tissue, Discharge, Soreness
- Non-healing, Erythema, Rash, Depth increase, Sepsis
Correct answer: Non-healing, Exudate increase, Red friable tissue, Debris, Smell
NERDS (Non-healing, Exudate increase, Red friable tissue, Debris, Smell) is used to identify superficial wound infection and critical colonization.
Question 5: Which organism is most commonly associated with wound biofilm formation?
- Streptococcus pyogenes
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Staphylococcus aureus (Correct answer)
- Escherichia coli
Correct answer: Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus is the most common organism associated with wound biofilm formation and chronic wound infection.
Question 6: Which systemic sign differentiates deep wound infection from superficial infection?
- Increased exudate
- Wound odor
- Fever and leukocytosis (Correct answer)
- Friable granulation tissue
Correct answer: Fever and leukocytosis
Fever and leukocytosis indicate systemic involvement, characteristic of deep wound infection rather than superficial critical colonization.
Wound Care Certification Exam Wound Care Certification Infection Management and Antimicrobials 1
Which clinical sign is MOST indicative of wound infection rather than normal inflammation?