Wound infection
Infection of a wound is characterized by the development of a certain clinical picture, manifested both by local and general changes in the body. Depending on the conditions under which the injury took place – wounds are divided into intentional /operational/ and accidental.
Surgical wounds are clean /aseptic/ as they are made with a sterile instrument in the operating room. Accidental wounds are always primarily infected – the extent of their infection depends both on the conditions under which the injury occurred and on the type of agent that caused the wound.
Secondary infection – additionally joins the injured surface in the absence of an aseptic dressing or re-infiltration of microorganisms in case of non-compliance with the rules of asepsis and antiseptics.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of wound infection were described as far back as the ancient Roman physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus, who lived from 25 BC to 50 AD and they are Rubor (redness) , Tumor (swelling), Calor (warmth) and Dolor (pain). To this day, they remain decisive in determining whether a wound has become infected.
They are a manifestation of the immune system’s fight against invading microorganisms, which can be compared to running against the wind. This is a kind of competition between the formation of antibodies and the reproduction of microbes and bacteria.
Generalized symptoms are an increase in body temperature and chills, leukocytosis, and also an increase in regional lymph nodes. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the cause of the manifested fever.
The earlier the diagnosis of the infection is made, the better the prospect for its timely elimination. But, as always, recognizing an incipient infection is accompanied by a number of difficulties, since unequivocal symptoms are still absent.
Preservation of the focus of infection around the wound, rise in body temperature, prolonged leukocytosis, and increasing painful sensations in the injured surface are signs that one should seriously think about.
What are the causes?
The development of an infectious process is a complex process dependent on many predisposing factors. First of all, the type, pathogenicity and virulence, as well as the amount of microorganisms that have entered the wound, are decisive for the beginning of the progression of the infection.
In the wound, the bacteria find an environment that more or less corresponds to the conditions they need to live.
Therefore, the condition of the wound / the degree of contamination, the amount of destroyed tissue, the conditions for blood supply, etc. / its “age” and its origin are other important predisposing factors.
A particularly big role is played by how quickly the local defense mechanisms will be able to work in the given wound condition and how effective they will be.
This, in turn, depends on the general state of the immune status of the organism concerned.
The already weakened immune system, the deteriorated general condition, certain metabolic disorders, malignant tumors, advanced age, improper nutrition and other factors have a negative impact on the immune response and therefore create favorable conditions for the reproduction of microorganisms.< /p>
The causes of wound infection can be other than bacteria and viruses and fungi.
Treatment of wound infection
The prevention of wound infection is reduced to preventing the penetration of microorganisms into the wounded surface, while the treatment focuses on a cardinal reduction of the microflora present in the wound and the destruction of the penetrated bacteria.
