Wound cultures: what, when and how

Collecting wound cultures is a very controversial issue at this time when cost containment is at the forefront of healthcare providers' minds. It is also controversial in this time of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus-aureus (MRSA) becoming more common and very difficult to manage in acute and long term care facilities. While the basics of culturing may have not changed, the decision to culture or not, and knowing what, when and how to culture, are of vital importance in the treatment and quality of care for the patient, staff and others. The purpose of this article is to present the implications for culturing a wound and the proper procedure for collecting the specimen and planting the organism. In this discussion of wound culturing, the authors will provide guidelines to accurately interpret the results to accommodate proper treatment in a cost-effective manner.