Evidence of Nursing Report: Surgical Wound Care Dressing Comparison

This report, titled "Evidence of Nursing," investigates the efficacy of clean versus sterile dressing techniques in the context of surgical wound care. The introduction highlights the ongoing debate surrounding the efficiency of these two methods and underscores the importance of evidence-based practice in clinical settings. The report analyzes peer-reviewed journals, including case studies and research articles published within the last five years, to determine the effectiveness of clean wound dressing techniques in reducing hospital stays and costs. The main body delves into the specifics of both sterile and clean techniques, detailing their procedures, advantages, and disadvantages. It presents a study conducted on 130 post-operative patients, comparing the healing duration and infection rates between the two techniques. The report concludes that clean wound dressing is effective for surgical wounds but emphasizes the need for further research to address variables like the severity of the wound and the type of gloves used. The report stresses the importance of critical thinking in applying evidence from the literature to improve patient outcomes, ultimately contributing to the advancement of healthcare practices.

Evidence of Nursing 1
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EVIDENCE OF NURSING
By (Name)
The Name Of The Class ( Course)
Professor (Tutor)
Name Of School (University)
The City And State Where It Is Placed
Date

Evidence of Nursing 2
Index
Introduction 3
Main body. 4
Conclusion 7
References 9

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Scenario 1
Introduction
In wound care, two techniques that are recognized; clean dressing techniques and sterile
technique. Over the years, there have been several arguments about the efficiency of these
techniques.. Through analyzing research work, it is possible to apply the knowledge in clinical
practice. Identifying the efficacy of clean wound technique on surgical wounds can help reduce
the cost of buying antiseptics for sterile technique. Application of clean wound dressing
technique in the healthcare setting shows hope for the reduction of the time the patient spends in
hospital (Huang, Zhang, Guan, and Liang 2016).
The question of this research is answered fully in the paper. In order to answer this
question, journals that have been published in the last five years that are related to the topic will
be analyzed. These journals will include case studies and research articles. This approach is
effective as the information found in the journals are peer-reviewed which means they are
genuine and researched well. Each paper will be selected based on the quality of evidence in the
paper, the level of evidence and the relevance of the paper to the question. The paper should
have enough evidence either supporting or disapproving the evidence of clean wound dressing
technique in surgical wounds. For this paper, the level of evidence in the paper should be above
the basic knowledge of clean wound technique thereby providing new information and finally,
the paper should be relevant to clean wound technique. Through this method, it is possible to
identify a solution to the question (Huang, Zhang, Guan, and Liang 2016).
Main body

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Sterile wound dressing technique is a technique used in wound care. According to
science, sterile is the state of being free from any microorganisms. (Swanson et al. 2016). When
used in wound care, it involved reducing the patient’s exposure to any microorganisms and
putting extra effort to maintain the area around the patient and the objects in the patients’
environment free from contamination. In this method, the health care specialist washes their
hands meticulously and uses sterile tools and a sterile glove in order to apply a sterile dressing.
Sterile instruments are used in the process and there is no contact between sterile instruments and
non-sterile instruments. This method is very effective for patients who are at high risk of
infection.
Another alternative to sterile wound care is a clean technique. Clean refers to the state of
being free from dirt (Mickelson, Mans, and Colopy, 2016). This technique involves reducing the
number of microorganism in the patient's environment and prevent the risk of microorganisms
spreading form from one area to another form one patient to the other. The healthcare
professional begins by washing their hands meticulously and them cleaning the environment
around the patient. There is the use of clean gloves and care is taken to prevent any
contamination from the cleaning materials and supplies. This technique is not very strict on
sterileness but focuses more on the area being clean. It is suitable for home care and for long
term wound care for patients who are not at risk this method is also used for patients who have
acute wounds (Kent, Scardillo, Dale and Pike 2018).
Applying the clean wound technique does not compromise on the sterility of the wound.
There are strict steps that are followed in order to apply the clean wound technique (Divers
2019). This can be divided into three steps. The first step involves preparation of the dressing
supplies, preparation of the patient psychologically and mentally, removal of the dressing. The

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second step involves cleaning the wound and the area around the wound followed by application
of a protective skin barrier and a protective field that is dry. Finally, the wound is tucked in a
filler and an absorbent layer is placed on it and secured with an adhesive or a wrap (Kent,
Scardillo, Dale and Pike 2018).
A research was conducted on 130 patients at a hospital in China. The patients had
recently undergone surgery. The participants were 60 females and 70 males. These participants
were grouped, the first half were subjected to sterile wound care techniques, while the other half
received a clean wound dressing technique. The duration of the healing and the rate of wound
infection was analyzed. Significant difference concerning the age of the patient was considered
on the progression of the wound healing. This study showed that there was no significant
difference observed on the duration of healing of patients under sterile method technique and
clean dressing technique. Both groups had an appropriate healing duration and none of the
wounds developed an infection. All 130 patients were reported to have a full recovery despite the
wound care method. However, the immunity status of the patient and the type of dressing used
requires more research to find out if there was a significant influence in regard to the wound
care treatment chosen (Huang, Zhang, Guan, and Liang 2016).
Through this study, it is also evident that to care for surgical wounds clean wound
dressing is effective. However, there was no recommendation that was concluded in regard to the
severity of the surgical wound. The incidence of surgical wounds is affected by several variables
resulting in a negative clinical implication. The evidence of the use of sterile techniques as
compared to clean techniques is still controversial. There is little literature supporting the use of
either method in surgical wounds. More research should be conducted to analyze the variables
associated with wound care. The evidence-based practice encourages critical thinking in the

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application of the evidence obtained from the previous literature in applying clean wound care to
the individual patient or the entire population system. The information obtained in the literature
can be used to analyze the current health care practice and improve on the available (Huang,
Zhang, Guan, and Liang 2016)
Sterile or non-sterile gloves, on the other hand, are a variable that can severely affect the
wound care. The type of gloves influences both sterile wound care technique and clean wound
care technique. This is regardless of the type of wound, the environment of the patient, the skills
of the healthcare provider or the patient health stats. To reduce wound infection, the health care
provider should critically analyze the situation and always opt for sterilized gloves when
changing a wound dressing or during routine clean up of the wound (Kent, Scardillo, Dale and
Pike 2018).
Conclusion
Wound infections are very common after a surgical procedure. It has resulted in higher
treatment costs and prolonged stay at the hospital. Proper wound care is esswntial after a
surgery. The decision of which technique to use is dependent on traditions instead of scientific
evidence. Several researchers have attempted to explain which method is more effective; sterile
wound care or clean wound care. They have conducted case studies, done research and published
papers based on the knowledge they have acquired and supporting evidence. According to the
research obtained, there is no agreement form the experts about the use of clean dressing
techniques. It is clear that the clean wound technique has proven to be very effective when
applied in long-term care and in the treatment of patients with chronic wounds. However, many

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researchers agree that more research should be done before this technique is applied in the care
for surgical wounds (Haesler, Thomas, Morey and Barker 2016).

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References
Divers, S.J., 2019. Surgery: principles and techniques. In BSAVA manual of reptiles (pp. 210-
239). BSAVA Library.
Haesler, E., Thomas, L., Morey, P. and Barker, J., 2016. A systematic review of the literature
addressing asepsis in wound management. Wound Practice & Research: Journal of the
Australian Wound Management Association, 24(4), p.208
Huang, X.L., Zhang, J.Q., Guan, S.T. and Liang, W.J., 2016. Comparison of sterile and clean
dressing techniques in postoperative surgical wound infection in a Chinese healthcare
facility. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 15(2), pp.415-419.
Kent, D.J., Scardillo, J.N., Dale, B. and Pike, C., 2018. Does the Use of Clean or Sterile Dressing
Technique Affect the Incidence of Wound Infection?. Journal of Wound, Ostomy and
Continence Nursing, 45(3), pp.265-269
Mickelson, M.A., Mans, C. and Colopy, S.A., 2016. Principles of wound management and wound healing
in exotic pets. Veterinary Clinics: Exotic Animal Practice, 19(1), pp.33-53.S
Swanson, T., Angel, D., Sussman, G., Cooper, R., Haesler, E., Ousey, K., Carville, K., Fletcher, J., Kalan,
L., Keast, D. and Leaper, D.J., 2016. Wound infection in clinical practice: principles of best
practice.