Assessing and controlling wound infection.

Quantitatively, wounds harboring bacteria that exceed 105 colony-forming units per gram are considered infected wounds. There are acute wounds and chronic wounds, and the approach to controlling the infection is similar. Although the granulating bed may be avascular, systemic anti-infectives are employed adjunctively to circumvent systemic infection. The main armamentarium of the attack is the use of topical anti-infectives, which invade the bacteria where they reside, and, consequently, reduce their numbers and promote wound healing.