Sharp wound debridement: patient selection and perspectives

Abstract

Conservative sharp wound debridement, as part of the wound bed preparation paradigm, can be performed in a wide variety of settings including the patients’ home or community clinic settings, by health care professionals who perform within their scope of practice and have been certified to be competent. This paper reviews the components that must be in place to ensure safe delivery of conservative sharp wound debridement for an increased number of clinicians, with organizational support, based on practices in a Canadian context. Expected goals are a cleaner wound bed, with an increased percentage of viable tis- sue, decreased amount of wound exudate, corresponding decreased risk of wound infection and malodor, and improved periwound skin.