Goal: The culture is obtained without evidence of contamination, without exposing the patient to additional pathogens, and without causing discomfort for the patient.
1. Review the medical orders for obtaining a wound culture.
2. Gather the necessary supplies and bring to the bedside stand or overbed table.
3. Perform hand hygiene and put on PPE, if indicated.
4. Identify the patient.
5. Close curtains around bed and close door to room if possible. Explain what you are going to do and why you are going to do it to the patient.
6. Assess the patient for possible need for nonpharmacologic pain-reducing interventions or analgesic medication before obtaining the wound culture. Administer appropriate prescribed analgesic. Allow enough time for analgesic to achieve its effectiveness before beginning procedure.
7. Place an appropriate waste receptacle within easy reach for use during the procedure.
8. Adjust bed to comfortable working height, usually elbow height of the caregiver (VISN 8, 2009).
9. Assist the patient to a comfortable position that provides easy access to the wound. If necessary, drape the patient with the bath blanket to expose only the wound area. Place a waterproof pad under the wound site. Check the culture label against the patient’s identification bracelet.
10. If there is a dressing in place on the wound, put on clean gloves. Carefully and gently remove the soiled dressings. If there is resistance, use a silicone-based adhesive remover to help remove the tape. If any part of the dressing sticks to the underlying skin, use small amounts of sterile saline to help loosen and remove.
11. After removing the dressing, note the presence, amount, type, color, and odor of any drainage on the dressings. Place soiled dressings in the appropriate waste receptacle.
12. Assess the wound for appearance, stage, the presence of eschar, granulation tissue, epithelialization, undermining, tunneling, necrosis, sinus tract, and drainage. Assess the appearance of the surrounding tissue. Measure the wound. Refer to Fundamentals Review 8-3.
13. Remove your gloves and put them in the receptacle.
14. Set up a sterile field, if indicated, and wound cleaning supplies. Put on the sterile gloves. Alternately, clean gloves (clean technique) may be used when cleaning a chronic wound.
15. Clean the wound. Refer to Skill 8-1. Alternately, irrigatethe wound, as ordered or required (see Skill 8-4).
16. Dry the surrounding skin with gauze dressings. Put on clean gloves.
17. Twist the cap to loosen the swab on the Culturette tube, or open the separate swab and remove the cap from the culture tube. Keep the swab and inside of the culture tube sterile.
18. If contact with the wound is necessary to separate wound margins to permit insertion of the swab deep into the wound, put a sterile glove on one hand to manipulate the wound margins. Clean gloves may be appropriate for contact with pressure ulcers and chronic wounds.
19. Carefully insert the swab into the wound. Press and rotate the swab several times over the wound surfaces. Avoid touching the swab to intact skin at the wound edges. Use another swab if collecting a specimen from another site.
20. Place the swab back in the culture tube. Do not touch the outside of the tube with the swab. Secure the cap. Some swab containers have an ampule of medium at the bottom of the tube. It might be necessary to crush this ampule to activate. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for use.
21. Remove gloves and discard them accordingly.
22. Put on gloves. Place a dressing on the wound, as appropriate, based on medical orders and/or the nursing plan of care. Refer to Skills 8-1 through 8-3. Remove gloves.
23. After securing the dressing, label dressing with date and time. Remove all remaining equipment; place the patient in a comfortable position, with side rails up and bed in the lowest position.
24. Label the specimen according to your institution’s guidelines and send it to the laboratory in a biohazard bag.
25. Remove PPE, if used. Perform hand hygiene.
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