Does the Use of Clean or Sterile Dressing Technique Affect the Incidence of Wound Infection?

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the evidence and provide recommendations for the use of clean or sterile dressing technique with dressing application to prevent wound infection.

Question: In all persons with acute or chronic wounds, does the use of clean or sterile dressing technique affect incidence of wound infection?

Search Strategy: A search of the literature was performed by a trained university librarian, which resulted in 473 articles that examined any age group that dealt with application of a wound dressing using either sterile or nonsterile technique. A systematic approach was used to review titles, abstracts, and text, yielding 4 studies that met inclusion criteria.