Wound Infection Vs Colonization

A wound is not expected to be sterile. Microorganisms may live on its surface without invading tissue or producing a harmful host response; this is colonization. Infection occurs when microorganisms are associated with a changing clinical pattern, such as increasing pain, peri-wound erythema, warmth, induration, increased exudate, foul odour, or enlargement of the wound. The distinction is clinical rather than microbiological. A positive swab does not, by itself, prove infection, because a colonized wound can also yield bacterial growth. The experienced nurse compares the wound with its baseline, examines the surrounding tissue, and assesses the whole client before deciding whether the pattern represents infection.