CDT Dermatological Assessment Methods 2 ā Questions and Answers
Question 1: When using dermoscopy to evaluate a pigmented lesion, which feature is most associated with melanoma?
- Comma-shaped vessels
- Atypical pigment network with regression structures (Correct answer)
- Milia-like cysts
- Leaf-like areas of brown pigment
Correct answer: Atypical pigment network with regression structures
Atypical pigment network combined with regression structures (white scar-like areas or blue-gray peppering) is a key dermoscopic indicator of melanoma.
Question 2: A patient presents with a rash that blanches completely with diascopy. This finding most likely indicates:
- Purpura due to vasculitis
- Erythema caused by vascular dilation (Correct answer)
- Hemosiderin deposition
- Fixed drug eruption
Correct answer: Erythema caused by vascular dilation
Blanching on diascopy indicates that redness is caused by blood in dilated vessels, not extravasated blood, which is consistent with inflammatory erythema.
Question 3: The Nikolsky sign is performed by applying lateral shear pressure to skin. A positive result suggests:
- Epidermalādermal adhesion defect (Correct answer)
- Dermal fibrosis
- Subcutaneous edema
- Lichenification
Correct answer: Epidermalādermal adhesion defect
A positive Nikolsky sign, where skin slides off with gentle pressure, indicates a defect in epidermal cohesion, as seen in pemphigus vulgaris and staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome.
Question 4: Which Wood's lamp finding is characteristic of erythrasma caused by Corynebacterium minutissimum?
- Blue-white fluorescence
- Coral-red fluorescence (Correct answer)
- Green fluorescence
- Yellow-green fluorescence
Correct answer: Coral-red fluorescence
Erythrasma fluoresces coral-red under Wood's lamp due to porphyrins produced by Corynebacterium minutissimum.
Question 5: When assessing skin turgor in a patient, which site provides the most reliable assessment in elderly patients?
- Dorsum of the hand
- Forehead or chest (Correct answer)
- Inner forearm
- Anterior thigh
Correct answer: Forehead or chest
In elderly patients, the forehead or chest are preferred sites for turgor assessment because age-related loss of elasticity on the hands makes hand turgor unreliable.
Question 6: A dermatology tech documents a lesion as 'annular.' This term means the lesion is:
- Linear and streak-like
- Ring-shaped with central clearing (Correct answer)
- Irregular with scalloped borders
- Dome-shaped and smooth
Correct answer: Ring-shaped with central clearing
Annular describes ring-shaped lesions with central clearing, commonly seen in conditions like tinea corporis and erythema migrans.
Question 7: The ABCDE criteria for melanoma assessment include 'E' which stands for:
- Edema
- Elevation
- Evolution (Correct answer)
- Erosion
Correct answer: Evolution
The 'E' in the ABCDE melanoma screening criteria stands for Evolution, referring to any change in size, shape, color, or new symptoms over time.
CDT Dermatological Assessment Methods 2
When using dermoscopy to evaluate a pigmented lesion, which feature is most associated with melanoma?