REFERENCES
1. Houser J. Nursing Research: Reading, Using, and
Creating Evidence. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett
Publishers; 2008.
2. Nollan R, Fineout-Overholt E, Stephenson P.
Asking compelling clinical questions. In: Melnyk BM,
Fineout-Overholt E, eds. Evidence-Based Practice in
Nursing and Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice.
Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins;
2004:25-37.
3. Recommended practices for maintaining a sterile
field. In: Perioperative Standards and Recommended
Practices. Denver, CO: AORN, Inc; 2008:565-573.
4. Recommended practices for preoperative patient
skin antisepsis. In: Perioperative Standards and Recom-
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5. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
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ROBIN CHARD
RN, PHD, CNOR
PERIOPERATIVE NURSING SPECIALIST
AORN CENTER FOR NURSING PRACTICE
108 AORN JOURNAL
Wound classifications
QUESTION: At my facility, surgical team members
continue to have questions concerning wound
classifications. The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines for prevention
of surgical site infection identifies four surgical
wound classifications.
1
Can AORN provide exam-
ples of wound classifications for surgical proce-
dures that are not mentioned by the CDC?
ANSWER: The wound classification system is
a formula that the surgical team uses for post-
operatively grading the extent of microbial
contamination, indicating the chance that a pa-
tient will develop an infection at the surgical
site.
1
In addition, it assists the surgeon in de-
termining whether or not to use preoperative
antimicrobial prophylaxis. The CDC uses an
adaptation of the American College of Sur-
geons wound classification schema, which di-
vides surgical wounds into four classes.
2
Laparoscopic cholecystectomyclass II
Cystoscopyclass II