Diabetic Foot & Chronic Wounds — General Surgery

Diabetic Foot & Chronic Wounds MCQs: practice questions

Sample Diabetic Foot & Chronic Wounds multiple-choice questions from General Surgery.

1. What is the cornerstone of neuropathic plantar-ulcer management?

   • A. 10-g monofilament testing
   • B. Protective footwear and continued off-loading
   • C. Revascularization
   • D. Off-loading pressure
   • E. Peripheral neuropathy

2. Which finding indicates peripheral arterial disease in a diabetic foot?

   • A. Medial arterial calcification
   • B. Neuropathic ulcer
   • C. Ankle-brachial pressure index reduction
   • D. Off-loading pressure
   • E. Staphylococcus aureus

3. A diabetic patient has a deep ulcer that probes to bone. What complication should be strongly suspected?

   • A. Neuropathic ulcer
   • B. Osteomyelitis
   • C. Urgent source control and appropriate antimicrobial therapy
   • D. Daily foot inspection and protection from trauma
   • E. Off-loading pressure

4. What is the most important prevention strategy for diabetic foot ulceration?

   • A. Rapid progression with severe pain and systemic toxicity
   • B. Vascular assessment
   • C. Peripheral neuropathy
   • D. It reflects repetitive pressure and increases local mechanical stress
   • E. Daily foot inspection and protection from trauma

5. Which imaging study is particularly useful when diabetic foot osteomyelitis is suspected and plain films are nondiagnostic?

   • A. MRI
   • B. Assessment of protective sensation and pulses
   • C. Protective footwear and continued off-loading
   • D. Rest pain with absent distal pulses
   • E. Removal of necrotic and infected tissue

6. Which organism is commonly encountered in uncomplicated diabetic foot infection?

7. A painless plantar ulcer in a patient with diabetes and loss of sensation is most consistent with

8. Which vascular abnormality commonly impairs healing of diabetic foot ulcers?

9. Which complication should be suspected when a chronic diabetic ulcer has a foul odor and black necrotic tissue?

10. A severely infected diabetic foot with systemic toxicity requires

11. Which ulcer is classically located over a bony pressure point and associated with callus?

12. Which intervention reduces recurrence of neuropathic plantar ulcers?

13. Which metabolic control is important for wound healing in diabetes?

14. Which specialist evaluation is particularly important for a nonhealing ischemic diabetic ulcer?

15. A painful foot ulcer with cool skin and absent pulses suggests

16. Which factor markedly increases infection risk in diabetic foot wounds?

17. The most important neurologic contributor to diabetic foot ulceration is

18. Which chronic wound feature should prompt biopsy?

19. Why can ABI be falsely elevated in long-standing diabetes?

20. Why should callus surrounding a neuropathic ulcer be treated?

21. A patient has a diabetic foot ulcer with exposed tendon and extensive necrotic tissue. The best general management principle is

22. Which vascular intervention can improve healing when a diabetic foot ulcer is caused by critical ischemia?

23. What is the role of debridement in chronic wound care?

24. Which finding suggests a necrotizing soft-tissue infection rather than a simple ulcer?

25. Which bedside test screens for loss of protective sensation?

26. A diabetic patient with cellulitis extending from a foot ulcer has fever and hypotension. The major concern is

27. Which finding suggests severe limb ischemia?

28. Which factor most directly converts a neuropathic foot into a chronic ulcer?

29. Which physical examination component is essential in a diabetic foot assessment?

30. Why do diabetic foot wounds heal poorly?