Wound Care Certification Exam Wound Care Certification Wound Assessment and Staging 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which CEAP classification class describes a patient with active venous ulceration?
- C3
- C4b
- C5
- C6 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: C6
CEAP class C6 designates active venous ulcer, while C5 indicates a healed venous ulcer.
Question 2: A wound clinician measures a wound as 3 cm × 2 cm at the first visit and 2.5 cm × 1.8 cm at week 2. What percentage of wound area reduction occurred?
- Approximately 15% reduction
- Approximately 25% reduction (Correct answer)
- Approximately 40% reduction
- Approximately 5% reduction
Correct answer: Approximately 25% reduction
Initial area = 6 cm²; week 2 area = 4.5 cm²; reduction = 1.5/6 = 25% — a clinically significant improvement.
Question 3: What is the primary reason moisture-associated skin damage (MASD) must be distinguished from pressure injuries during wound assessment?
- MASD is always more painful than pressure injuries
- Treatment strategies differ significantly between the two conditions (Correct answer)
- MASD only occurs in the sacral region unlike pressure injuries
- Pressure injuries always have full-thickness tissue loss
Correct answer: Treatment strategies differ significantly between the two conditions
MASD and pressure injuries require different treatments; misclassification leads to ineffective care and potential harm.
Question 4: A wound clinician observes satellite lesions (small wounds) surrounding a primary wound. This finding most likely indicates:
- Normal wound edge migration during epithelialization
- Spreading infection or cutaneous involvement beyond primary wound (Correct answer)
- Wound dehiscence from suture failure
- Adequate moisture balance in the wound environment
Correct answer: Spreading infection or cutaneous involvement beyond primary wound
Satellite lesions surrounding a primary wound suggest spreading infection, autoimmune conditions, or malignancy requiring further investigation.
Question 5: Which assessment technique is used to detect undermining in a wound?
- Pressing firmly on periwound skin to check for blanching
- Using a sterile cotton-tipped applicator to probe beneath wound edges (Correct answer)
- Measuring wound width at its widest visible point
- Applying wound photography for documentation
Correct answer: Using a sterile cotton-tipped applicator to probe beneath wound edges
A sterile cotton-tipped applicator is gently inserted under wound edges to detect and measure undermining depth and direction.
Question 6: What does the term 'biofilm' mean in the context of wound assessment, and why is it clinically significant?
- A transparent protective film applied to cover wounds
- A structured community of bacteria embedded in a protective matrix that resists antibiotics (Correct answer)
- The fibrin layer that forms naturally during wound healing
- A type of wound dressing that promotes moisture balance
Correct answer: A structured community of bacteria embedded in a protective matrix that resists antibiotics
Biofilm is a bacterial community encased in a self-produced matrix that dramatically increases antibiotic resistance and perpetuates wound chronicity.
Question 7: When a Stage 2 pressure injury heals, how should it be restaged?
- Restaged downward to Stage 1 as it improves
- Documented as 'healed Stage 2' — pressure injuries are never restaged downward (Correct answer)
- Reclassified as a skin tear once epithelialized
- Upgraded to Stage 3 if slough appeared during healing
Correct answer: Documented as 'healed Stage 2' — pressure injuries are never restaged downward
Pressure injuries are never restaged downward because the body does not regenerate the same tissue layers that were lost; a healed wound is documented as 'healed Stage 2.'
Wound Care Certification Exam Wound Care Certification Wound Assessment and Staging 5
Which CEAP classification class describes a patient with active venous ulceration?