The clinical efficacy of two semi-quantitative wound-swabbing techniques in identifying the causative organism(s) in infected cutaneous wounds
A prospective randomised controlled trial of two paired wound-swabbing techniques (Levine versus Z) wasconducted to establish which method was more effective in determining the presence of bacteria in clinicallyinfected wounds. The Levine technique involves rotating the wound swab over a 1-cm2 area...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
2011
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49066 |
| _version_ | 1848758158034468864 |
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| author | Angel, D. Lloyd, P. Carville, Keryln Santamaria, Nick |
| author_facet | Angel, D. Lloyd, P. Carville, Keryln Santamaria, Nick |
| author_sort | Angel, D. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | A prospective randomised controlled trial of two paired wound-swabbing techniques (Levine versus Z) wasconducted to establish which method was more effective in determining the presence of bacteria in clinicallyinfected wounds. The Levine technique involves rotating the wound swab over a 1-cm2 area of the wound; the Ztechnique involves rotating the swab between the fingers in a zigzag fashion across the wound without touching thewound edge. Fifty patients were recruited into the study with acute (42%) and chronic wounds (58%). Overall, theLevine technique detected significantly more organisms than the Z technique (P = 0·001). When acute and chronicwounds were analysed separately, the Levine technique again detected more organisms in both acute (P = 0·001)and chronic wounds (P = 0·001). We conclude that the Levine technique is superior to the Z technique and thisresult may be because of the Levine technique’s ability to express fluid from the wound bed and thereby samplinga greater concentration of microorganisms from both the surface and slightly below the surface of the wound. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:39:32Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-49066 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:39:32Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| publisher | Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-490662017-03-15T22:56:01Z The clinical efficacy of two semi-quantitative wound-swabbing techniques in identifying the causative organism(s) in infected cutaneous wounds Angel, D. Lloyd, P. Carville, Keryln Santamaria, Nick Wound-swabbing techniques Wound swab A prospective randomised controlled trial of two paired wound-swabbing techniques (Levine versus Z) wasconducted to establish which method was more effective in determining the presence of bacteria in clinicallyinfected wounds. The Levine technique involves rotating the wound swab over a 1-cm2 area of the wound; the Ztechnique involves rotating the swab between the fingers in a zigzag fashion across the wound without touching thewound edge. Fifty patients were recruited into the study with acute (42%) and chronic wounds (58%). Overall, theLevine technique detected significantly more organisms than the Z technique (P = 0·001). When acute and chronicwounds were analysed separately, the Levine technique again detected more organisms in both acute (P = 0·001)and chronic wounds (P = 0·001). We conclude that the Levine technique is superior to the Z technique and thisresult may be because of the Levine technique’s ability to express fluid from the wound bed and thereby samplinga greater concentration of microorganisms from both the surface and slightly below the surface of the wound. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49066 Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd restricted |
| spellingShingle | Wound-swabbing techniques Wound swab Angel, D. Lloyd, P. Carville, Keryln Santamaria, Nick The clinical efficacy of two semi-quantitative wound-swabbing techniques in identifying the causative organism(s) in infected cutaneous wounds |
| title | The clinical efficacy of two semi-quantitative wound-swabbing techniques in identifying the causative organism(s) in infected cutaneous wounds |
| title_full | The clinical efficacy of two semi-quantitative wound-swabbing techniques in identifying the causative organism(s) in infected cutaneous wounds |
| title_fullStr | The clinical efficacy of two semi-quantitative wound-swabbing techniques in identifying the causative organism(s) in infected cutaneous wounds |
| title_full_unstemmed | The clinical efficacy of two semi-quantitative wound-swabbing techniques in identifying the causative organism(s) in infected cutaneous wounds |
| title_short | The clinical efficacy of two semi-quantitative wound-swabbing techniques in identifying the causative organism(s) in infected cutaneous wounds |
| title_sort | clinical efficacy of two semi-quantitative wound-swabbing techniques in identifying the causative organism(s) in infected cutaneous wounds |
| topic | Wound-swabbing techniques Wound swab |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49066 |