Wound Care Certification Exam Wound Care Certification Beginner's Guide 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which wound characteristic is best described by the term 'undermining'?
- Tissue destruction extending laterally under intact skin edges (Correct answer)
- A shallow crater exposing subcutaneous fat
- Necrotic tissue firmly adhered to the wound bed
- Excessive granulation tissue above wound margins
Correct answer: Tissue destruction extending laterally under intact skin edges
Undermining refers to tissue destruction that extends under the intact skin surrounding a wound, creating a pocket that is measured in clock positions.
Question 2: A patient has a wound with a PUSH score of 12. What does a higher PUSH score indicate?
- Better wound healing progress
- Greater wound severity or poorer healing (Correct answer)
- A fully granulated wound bed
- Absence of infection
Correct answer: Greater wound severity or poorer healing
The Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) tool uses a higher score to indicate a more severe wound; as healing progresses, the score should decrease toward zero.
Question 3: Which type of debridement uses a high-pressure water stream to remove devitalized tissue?
- Autolytic debridement
- Enzymatic debridement
- Hydrotherapy/pulsed lavage debridement (Correct answer)
- Sharp mechanical debridement
Correct answer: Hydrotherapy/pulsed lavage debridement
Pulsed lavage (hydrotherapy) delivers irrigation fluid at controlled pressures to loosen and remove necrotic tissue and wound debris.
Question 4: What is the primary reason a wound care specialist would choose a hydrocolloid dressing over a simple gauze dressing?
- Hydrocolloids are less expensive
- Hydrocolloids maintain a moist wound environment and require less frequent changes (Correct answer)
- Hydrocolloids absorb more exudate than gauze
- Hydrocolloids are appropriate for infected wounds
Correct answer: Hydrocolloids maintain a moist wound environment and require less frequent changes
Hydrocolloid dressings create and maintain a moist wound-healing environment while reducing the frequency of dressing changes, promoting autolytic debridement.
Question 5: A diabetic patient presents with a plantar foot ulcer. The wound probes to bone. Which diagnosis should be strongly suspected?
- Charcot foot deformity
- Osteomyelitis (Correct answer)
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Peripheral arterial disease
Correct answer: Osteomyelitis
A positive probe-to-bone test in a diabetic foot ulcer has a high positive predictive value for osteomyelitis and warrants further imaging and workup.
Question 6: Which ankle-brachial index (ABI) value range indicates moderate peripheral arterial disease?
- 0.91–1.30
- 0.61–0.90
- 0.41–0.60 (Correct answer)
- Below 0.40
Correct answer: 0.41–0.60
An ABI of 0.41–0.60 indicates moderate peripheral arterial disease, suggesting significant arterial insufficiency that can impair wound healing.
Question 7: Which bacteria is most commonly associated with a wound that has a characteristic 'fruity' or 'grape-like' odor?
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Correct answer)
- Escherichia coli
- Bacteroides fragilis
Correct answer: Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces a distinctive sweet, grape-like or fruity odor and often causes blue-green discoloration of wound exudate.
Wound Care Certification Exam Wound Care Certification Beginner's Guide 2
Which wound characteristic is best described by the term 'undermining'?