Skin and Wound Healing Flashcards
6 cards from real NCWO practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Skin and Wound Healing flashcards as text
Biofilm in a chronic wound is best characterized as:
Answer: A structured polymicrobial community encased in a protective extracellular matrix
Biofilm is an organized polymicrobial community encased in a self-produced extracellular polysaccharide matrix, conferring high resistance to antibiotics and host immune defenses.
Primary intention wound healing occurs when:
Answer: Wound edges are approximated (closed) with sutures, staples, or adhesive strips
Primary intention healing involves direct approximation of wound edges with closure materials, resulting in minimal scarring and the fastest healing trajectory.
The role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in chronic wound healing is:
Answer: Elevated MMPs in chronic wounds degrade growth factors and extracellular matrix, stalling healing
Chronically elevated MMPs in non-healing wound fluid degrade not only necrotic tissue but also growth factors, receptors, and newly formed extracellular matrix, perpetuating the wound's failure to progress.
A patient develops a painful nodular wound at the site of an old surgical incision. Histology shows dermal deposits of calcium. This condition is:
Answer: Calciphylaxis
Calciphylaxis is a rare, severe condition characterized by calcification of small blood vessels and dermal tissues, causing painful ischemic wounds, most often seen in patients with end-stage renal disease.
Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is important to recognize because treatment with which common wound therapy worsens the condition through pathergy?
Answer: Sharp surgical debridement
Pyoderma gangrenosum exhibits pathergy—trauma including sharp debridement triggers new ulceration—so surgical debridement is contraindicated and can dramatically worsen the wound.
Which nutritional parameter is considered the most reliable indicator of chronic protein-calorie malnutrition relevant to wound healing?
Answer: Serum prealbumin (half-life 2–3 days)
Prealbumin has a shorter half-life (2–3 days) compared to albumin (20 days), making it a more sensitive and timely marker for recent nutritional status changes relevant to wound healing.