Question

Postoperative wound infection is a concern for the patient. Describe what you would do to monitor the patient for wound infection. What interventions are done to prevent wound infection?

Answer 1

A wound is a localized defect of the skin or sof tissue which allow the pathogens to invade the tissue around the wound. Immune responses of the body are triggered by the infected wound. Many simple infections like scratch do not need medical intervention and may get resolved. However, other infections, can become severe and will require medical intervention.

The body’s first line of defense is the skin which is protected by a acidic and thin film called the “acid mantle” produced by the sebaceous glands. This layer halts the entry of pathogens and most of the times pathogens are not able to cause infection. However, pathogens enter through the skin when it is broken or immune system’s response is weak.

The clinical symptoms of infected wounds comprise of edema, erythema, fever, intense pain and many more. These are the signs which are to be monitored by the physician. Symptoms are more difficult to distinguish in case of chronic wounds. In such cases, diagnosis may include symptoms such as malaise and loss of appetite, which are categorized as non-specific symptoms.

Colonization of bacteria originating from bacteria from other parts of body, or from the outside environment or from the normal flora of the skin. Staphylococcus aureus and other species of the same genus are the most common bacteria causing infection.

Proper and prompt wound cleansing may reduce bioburden and maintaining proper nutrition and hydration are necessary. Approaches to treat wounds can be divided into two categories- approaches for systemic infection and approaches for localized infection. Oral antibiotics are often used in the systemic treatment which includes infection protocols and microbiological investigation.

Topical antibiotics are mostly preferred in case of localized infections debridement (drainage) may be important in order to remove dead tissue as it slows the healing process of wound and it also may affect the working of topical antibiotics. However, antibiotics either systemic or topical, must be only applied or used under the proper guidance of physician.