Case Study on Wound Infection

Running head: CASE STUDY ON WOUND INFECTION
CASE STUDY ON WOUND INFECTION
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1
CASE STUDY ON WOUND INFECTION
Question 1:
Mary was seen to develop a laceration wound after cutting her left feet with a broken
piece of glass on the sand. This type of wound that is mainly produced by the tearing of the soft
tissue and is usually irregular and jagged. Researchers are of the opinion that laceration is
contaminated with the bacteria as well as the debris from the various objects that cause the cut.
Mary was seen to have purulent discharge from the wound.
Studies suggest that purulent discharge that comes out from the wound can help the
nursing professionals to identify the condition of the wound and understand what kind of
intervention should be applied. Purulent discharge mainly occurs when the blood vessels try to
dilate during the early stages of the healing. Bacteria remain present at this time (Holmes et al.,
2015). The body is seen to create a moist environment around the wound during this time with an
attempt for healing itself. Researchers are of the opinion that when drainage becomes purulent,
there is high chance that the wound has become infected. It becomes easier for the germs to get
inside the skin when such condition develops. The germs are seen to spread under these affected
tissues and can cause the infection (Zhan et al., 2015). This stage makes the tissues swollen and
painful. Studies also suggest that such discharge implies that the wound will not heal quickly as
germs have increased chances in getting in the wounds because of its surface area. Therefore,
there is high chance that the wound developed by Mary is infected with germs.
Another important physiological symptom that can also help the nursing professionals to
identify the condition of the wound is the red and warm condition of the wound when touched.
Studies have shown that when wounds become infected, they become painful with redness
occurring around the edges of the skin and this red area feels warm or hot. When infections are

2
CASE STUDY ON WOUND INFECTION
seen to spread further, the redness is seen to keep spreading to more of the areas of the skin and
this situation results in increase of temperature along with fevers and aches (Drisfke et al., 2015).
The wound of the patient named Mary is seen to develop such redness around the wound and the
wound is warm when touched. Therefore, the wound can be stated to be infected and requires
immediate nursing intervention.
Question 2:
Endogenous infection can be defined as the infectious agent that remains present in the
body but in the dormant or the in-apparent stage. Often self-contamination of the wound might
be the one of the reason by which the condition of the wound had worsened in the patient named
Mary. Many of the researchers are of the opinion that physical migration of the endogenous flora
of the patient, which are present on the skin, mucous membranes as well as gastrointestinal tract,
can result in worsening of the infections (Zhou et al., 2018). In this case, study, it might have
happened that the microns present on the skin of the patient near her wound might have entered
into it making the situation worse. Studies have suggested when wounds occur on the skin
surfaces, the normal flora of bacteria that might comprise of Staphylococcus species and many
others can enter the wound. They might take one of the endogenous source and pathway to travel
to the wounds causing infection.
Exogenous source of infection mainly includes those microorganisms that are introduced
to the close biological system from the external world and are mainly seen to exist in the aquatic
and terrestrial environments and even in the atmosphere. Two important suspected sources can
be considered here which might have helped the microorganisms to enter into the wounds of the
patient. Mary has been in a beach resort and therefore bacterial present in the soil or the sand