Contributor: Aaron Lessen, MD

Educational Pearls:

• Wound care in the emergency department aims to prevent future infection
• Copious wound irrigation is the important step in preventing wound infection
• Studies have shown that irrigation with tap water is just as effective, if not superior, to irrigation with saline or other solutions
• Several studies have shown no reduction in wound infection rates when using sterile gloves during wound care
• Recent study in the Netherlands compared infection rates between patients undergoing wound repair with and without sterile gloves
• Receiving wound care with nonsterile gloves was noninferior to wound care utilizing sterile gloves

References

Fernandez R, Griffiths R. Water for wound cleansing. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Feb 15 2012;(2):Cd003861. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003861.pub3

Heckmann N, Simcox T, Kelley D, Marecek GS. Wound Irrigation for Open Fractures. JBJS Rev. Jan 2020;8(1):e0061. doi:10.2106/jbjs.Rvw.19.00061

Zwaans JJM, Raven W, Rosendaal AV, et al. Non-sterile gloves and dressing versus sterile gloves, dressings and drapes for suturing of traumatic wounds in the emergency department: a non-inferiority multicentre randomised controlled trial. Emerg Med J. Sep 2022;39(9):650-654. doi:10.1136/emermed-2021-211540

Summarized by Mark O'Brien, MS4 | Edited by John Spartz, MD, & Erik Verzemnieks, MD

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