Wound Care and Pressure Injury Staging Flashcards
7 cards from real LPN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Wound Care and Pressure Injury Staging flashcards as text
An LPN is caring for a patient with a venous leg ulcer. Which characteristic BEST distinguishes it from an arterial ulcer?
Answer: Located on the medial gaiter area with moderate-to-heavy exudate
Venous ulcers classically appear on the medial gaiter (lower leg/ankle) with moderate-to-heavy exudate due to venous insufficiency.
Which intervention BEST prevents friction injuries during patient repositioning?
Answer: Using a lift sheet or slide board to move the patient
Using a lift sheet or slide board prevents the skin from dragging across surfaces, eliminating friction and shear forces.
A patient's wound culture grows Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Which wound characteristic is MOST associated with this organism?
Answer: Blue-green exudate with a fruity odor
Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection classically produces blue-green pigmented exudate with a characteristic fruity or grape-like odor.
Which action should the LPN take FIRST upon discovering a patient lying on a pressure injury site?
Answer: Reposition the patient to offload pressure from the wound
Relieving pressure is the immediate priority to prevent further tissue ischemia and injury.
A Braden Scale score of 16 indicates which level of pressure injury risk?
Answer: Mild risk
A Braden score of 15–16 indicates mild risk for pressure injury development; scores ≤9 indicate very high risk.
When teaching a patient with a new colostomy about peristomal skin care, which instruction is MOST important for preventing skin breakdown?
Answer: Cut the pouch opening to fit within 1/8 inch of the stoma base
Cutting the opening to within 1/8 inch of the stoma prevents stool from contacting peristomal skin, the leading cause of skin breakdown.
Which finding indicates that a wound is NOT progressing toward healing and requires reassessment of the care plan?
Answer: Increase in wound size or depth after 2 weeks of treatment
A wound that increases in size or depth after two weeks of appropriate treatment indicates treatment failure and requires care plan revision.