WOUND IRRIGATION

Course overview

WOUNDS AND LACERATIONS ARE COMMON COMPLAINTS. EACH YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES, ROUGHLY 12.2 MILLION PATIENTS ARE SEEN IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS FOR WOUND CLOSURE AND WOUND MANAGEMENT. THE MOST COMMON COMPLICATION OF A WOUND IS AN INFECTION, WITH SEVERE INFECTION OCCURRING IN 2.47 PERCENT OF WOUNDS SUTURED IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. WOUND IRRIGATION IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF WOUND MANAGEMENT AND IS THE SINGLE GREATEST INTERVENTION IN WOUND CARE TO REDUCE THE RISK OF INFECTION. THIS ACTIVITY ILLUSTRATES THE IMPORTANCE OF WOUND IRRIGATION AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH DIRTY OR CONTAMINATED WOUNDS.