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Bacterial Wound Culture
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Common Questions
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1. Why would my doctor collect more than one sample?
2. Once I have been treated, can my infection return?
3. Why might one person get an infection and another person not?
4. I had a boil on my arm and the doctor did not do a culture of the material when he drained it. Why not?
1. Why would my doctor collect more than one sample?
This may be done to increase the chance of detecting the pathogen or to detect multiple pathogens. It may involve multiple swabs, a combination of swabs, fluid aspiration, and/or tissue biopsy, or distinct aerobic and anaerobic sample collection.
2. Once I have been treated, can my infection return?
Most infections will resolve, but if there is still damaged tissue present or a break in the skin’s protection, then there is the potential for another infection to occur. In some cases, it may take extended treatment and/or a change in medication to resolve an infection.
3. Why might one person get an infection and another person not?
Anyone can get a wound infection, but the risk increases with age and with underlying conditions, such as diabetes, that compromise blood flow or the immune system and/or that inhibit healing.
4. I had a boil on my arm and the doctor did not do a culture of the material when he drained it. Why not?
In a healthy patient, the clinical presentation may give the doctor sufficient information to treat the patient. With an abscess or boil, the most important treatment is incision and drainage, and antibiotics may not be required. However, if your wound does not heal or it worsens after drainage, you may have an infection with an organism that requires antibiotic therapy tailored to the specific pathogen. In this case, a culture of the wound should be done to identify the pathogen and perform susceptibility testing to predict the best possible antibiotic for clinical response.
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This article was last reviewed on
August 12, 2008
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