Wound Care and Skin Assessment Flashcards
6 cards from real CPC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Wound Care and Skin Assessment flashcards as text
A community paramedic assesses a diabetic patient's foot and notes loss of protective sensation (LOPS). Which validated screening test is used to detect LOPS in diabetic patients?
Answer: 10-gram Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test
The 10-gram Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test is the gold standard for detecting loss of protective sensation (LOPS) in diabetic neuropathy. Inability to feel the 10g monofilament at standard sites indicates significantly elevated ulceration risk.
A community paramedic notices a patient's wound has increased warmth, erythema extending >2 cm from the wound edge, purulent drainage, and the patient reports fever. These findings are MOST consistent with:
Answer: Wound infection with cellulitis requiring escalation
Purulent drainage, erythema >2 cm from the wound margin, warmth, and systemic signs (fever) indicate wound infection extending into surrounding tissue (cellulitis), requiring urgent medical evaluation and likely antibiotic therapy.
Which wound measurement technique provides the most clinically useful serial data to track wound healing progress?
Answer: Standardized measurement of wound length × width (cm²) and depth (cm), with photography
Standardized measurement (length × width × depth in cm) combined with consistent photographic documentation provides objective, reproducible data to track wound trajectory over time — essential for evaluating healing progress or deterioration.
Which of the following is the PRIMARY goal of debridement in wound management?
Answer: Remove devitalized tissue to optimize the wound environment for healing
Debridement removes necrotic, devitalized, or infected tissue that inhibits wound healing, provides a substrate for bacterial proliferation, and impedes visualization of wound depth and extent.
When educating a patient's caregiver about preventing moisture-associated skin damage (MASD) in an incontinent patient, which instruction is MOST important?
Answer: Cleanse the skin promptly with a pH-balanced perineal cleanser and apply a moisture barrier product after each episode
Prompt cleansing with a pH-balanced cleanser (not soap, which disrupts skin pH) and application of a moisture barrier (dimethicone or zinc oxide) is the evidence-based protocol for preventing incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD), the most common form of MASD.
A community paramedic identifies a chronic wound that has been present for 12 weeks with no measurable reduction in size. According to evidence-based practice, this wound should be reassessed for:
Answer: Biofilm presence, uncontrolled underlying disease, wound misclassification, or need for advanced therapies
A wound with no healing progress at 12 weeks indicates a 'stalled wound' requiring systematic reassessment: biofilm formation, uncontrolled comorbidities (diabetes, PAD, malnutrition), missed infection, wound misclassification, or need for advanced therapies (NPWT, growth factors, skin substitutes).