[General principles of wound management in emergency departments]. / Grundlegende Techniken des Wundverschlusses in der Notaufnahme.

Wound management is one of the major tasks in emergency departments. The surrounding intact skin but not the wound itself should be disinfected before starting definitive wound treatment. Hair should first be removed by clipping to 1-2 mm above the skin with scissors or clippers as shaving the area with a razor damages the hair follicles and increases the risk of wound infections. Administration of local anesthetics should be performed directly through the exposed edges of the wound. After wound examination, irrigation is performed with Ringer's solution, normal saline or distilled water. The next step is débridement of contaminated and devitalized tissue. There are several wound closure techniques available, including adhesive tapes, staples, tissue adhesives and numerous forms of sutures. Management of specific wounds requires particular strategies. A bleeding control problem frequently occurs with scalp lacerations. Superficial scalp lacerations can be closed by alternative wound closure methods, for example by twisting and fixing hair and the use of tissue adhesives, i.e. hair apposition technique (HAT). For strongly bleeding lacerations of the scalp, the epicranial aponeurosis should be incorporated into the hemostasis. Aftercare varies depending on both the characteristics of the wound and those of the patient and includes adequate analgesia as well as minimizing the risk of infection. Sufficient wound aftercare starts with the treating physician informing the patient about the course of events, potential complications and providing relevant instructions.

[Wound closure after irrigation with Octenisept® without possibility for drainage]. / Wundverschluss nach Wundspülung mit Octenisept® ohne Abflussmöglichkeit.

A 39-year-old patient suffered a stab wound of the right thenar prominence after an accident with a screwdriver. In the first hospital the deep wound was irrigated with octenidine dihydrochloride/2-phenoxyethanol and closed by suture. During the further course pressure pain and numbness of the right thenar and swelling of the right hand occurred. Three weeks after the accident an operative revision of the wound in a second hospital was performed. The intraoperative findings showed inflammation and necrosis of the right m. abductor pollicis brevis, but no infection with pus.The patient accused the first hospital of irrigating the tissue of his right hand with Octenisept®. The expert option of the Arbitration Board identified improper care in the first hospital with insufficient excision of the wound and incorrect use of the Octenisept® solution. Against the explicit advice of the manufacturing company the wound had been sutured without the possibility of drainage for the Octenisept® solution.