Irrigation with potable water versus normal saline in a contaminated musculoskeletal wound model.
BACKGROUND
Although the use of potable water for wound irrigation is attractive in an austere environment, its effectiveness has not been tested. We sought to compare the effectiveness of potable water irrigation in reducing bacterial number with that of normal saline irrigation.


METHODS
We used an established caprine model involving the creation of a reproducible complex musculoskeletal wound followed by inoculation with luminescent bacteria that allowed for quantitative analysis with a photon-counting camera system. Six hours after injury and inoculation, wound irrigations were performed using pulsatile lavage. Fourteen goats were randomized into two treatment groups: irrigation with 9 L potable water versus irrigation with 9 L normal saline. Images obtained after irrigation were compared with baseline images to determine the reduction in bacterial luminescence resulting from treatment.


RESULTS
The irrigation in both groups reduced the bacterial counts by 71% from the preirrigation levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Potable water reduced the bacterial load as effectively as normal saline in our model.
Svoboda
Steven J
SJ
US Army Institute of Surgical Research, Ft Sam Houston, Texas, USA.
Owens
Brett D
BD
Gooden
Heather A
HA
Melvin
Michael L
ML
Baer
David G
DG
Wenke
Joseph C
JC
D000818:Animals; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006041:Goats; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy*; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation / Q000379:methods*; D014867:Water
D014867:Water; D012965:Sodium Chloride