Wound Care
Questions
460.A 25-year-old man presents to the emergency department (ED) with
a right forearm laceration that he sustained from a piece of glass during a
bar fight. He complains of pain at the laceration site but denies a foreign body
sensation. On examination, the laceration is superficial and 4 cm long. The
patient demonstrates intact strength and sensation distally. Which of the
following statements regarding imaging this patient is true?
a. Imaging can be omitted because he does not have a foreign body sensation.
b. Imaging is not indicated because retained glass does not cause an inflammatory
reaction.
c. Plain film is the next best step in the management of this patient.
d. Computed tomographic (CT) scan is the most commonly used modality to rule
out a foreign body.
e. Plain film cannot rule out bone, teeth, or glass in soft tissue.
461.A 30-year-old woman presents to the ED with a left hand laceration.
She reports cutting herself while attempting to slice a bagel. She has a super-
ficial 2-cm laceration over the left thenar eminence. No deeper structures are
involved. What is the best way to clean the wound?
a. Punch holes in a normal saline bag or bottle and irrigate the wound.
b. Use a high-pressure syringe and irrigate with water.
c. Wound cleaning is unnecessary since wound was sustained from a clean knife.
d. Soak her hand in normal saline for 30 minutes.
e. Apply povidone-iodine to the wound.
507