Identifying and managing wound infection in the community

A large proportion of community wound care consists of managing chronic wounds. Given the increasingly complex patient comorbidities, early identification and treatment of wound infection can impact greatly not only on wound healing but also on the patient physically, psychologically and socially. Identifying wound infection can be challenging for clinicians, particularly in the chronic wound where infection may not always present itself as it does in acute wounds. The management of infected wounds can be complicated. Managing multiple symptoms and recognising these as being due to infection is not always straightforward and relies on the practitioner's knowledge and skills. An understanding of more commonly used antimicrobial treatments and when to employ these is paramount in enabling the practitioner to provide care that is effective, evidence based and cost efficient.