Blog

Select the correct statement regarding rest pain:

Leann underwent a bilateral mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection on the left side 10 years ago. You are establishing an aerobic exercise program for her as part of her PT plan of care, & you want to take her baseline vital signs prior to exercise. Which extremity would it be best to take her BP on?

Your patient fell and broke his right hip 4 weeks ago, requiring a total hip replacement, pain medication, and rehabilitation. His past medical history includes smoking, congestive heart failure (CHF), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He transfers to a TCU (transitional care unit) for therapies and pain management. Unfortunately, his pain medication worked very well, but his staff forgot to put pillows under his calves to offload his heels. He now presents to you with the ulcer pictured below. What is the greatest wound impairment (problem) that you need to address in your wound care plan?

Your patient is a 62 year-old male with a history of diabetes and a wound on his left first toe. You perform an ankle brachial index (ABI) to screen his limb for arterial insufficiency.  Your results are as follows:  Right arm – 145, Right femoral level (upper thigh) – 200, Right popliteal level (lower thigh) – 190, Right posterior tibialis (ankle) – 180, and Right great toe – 80.  Readings are similar on the left lower extremity.  Your conclusion based on the ABI result is:

You have evaluated a patient with a right medial lower extremity wound today. The wound bed is 80% granular, 20% yellow slough. There is moderate wound odor and copious blue-green drainage on the dressings. The border is irregular and macerated.  The periwound is moderately edematous, with moderate distal hemosiderin deposition.  The patient states that his leg swells up throughout the day and weeps into his sock and shoe. The patient has a right ABI of 0.95 and left ABI of 0.7.  Select the correct statement regarding wound etiology and treatment planning. 

A patient presents with this unstageable pressure injury to the posterior aspect of the heel.  Please select the best immediate treatment plan.  

You are evaluating a patient for a plantar diabetic foot ulcer, under the first metatarsal head. He has already seen a vascular surgeon who states that the patient has adequate blood flow for wound healing.  You test the patient’s sensation and he is unable to feel the 5.07 filament.  The wound has minimal drainage, no odor, and has 30% slough and 70% pink granular tissue.  His blood sugar this morning was normal.  What must be included in your plan for this patient in order to treat the underlying cause and allow the wound to close?

A patient presents with an open wound on the 1st MTP joint with a red, swollen and painful joint.  When you assess the wound, you note a white crystal appearance in the wound bed.  The likely etiology of this wound is: 

A 54 year old female presents to the wound clinic for a left lower extremity wound on her medial and posterior leg that is irregular in shape measuring 4.2 x 2.9 x 0.4 cms with dusky edges. Her PMH is significant for lung cancer, RA, tobacco use, and DVT to left leg. She reports she has compression socks at home that fit correctly but she has stopped wearing them because of pain. With this limited information you suspect the etiology of this wound may be: 

For the above patient, you would like to add compression to her plan of care. Which compression plan is best for her?