Acute Traumatic Wounds: Evaluation, Cleansing, and Repair in Urgent Care

Points & Pearls Excerpt

• The “golden period” for safe laceration repair is variable and dependent on wound site, length, pre-existing conditions, and degree of wound contamination.
• Irrigation at a pressure of 13 psi is effective for cleansing noncontaminated wounds and reducing infection without causing tissue trauma; this can be achieved using a 12-mL syringe and a 22-gauge needle.
• LET is effective at obtaining anesthesia for superficial laceration repair, but must be used with caution in areas of potential vascular compromise.
• A single-injection volar digital nerve block achieves a similar level of anesthesia as the dorsal 2-injection technique. (See Figure 1.)