Want to make your I&D less smelly, get uncontaminated material for culture, not drip pus all over your patient and the surroundings, and make cleanup easier? Needle drain the abscess - drain it dry. Then, if you still feel the need to do an open procedure, you'll have a minimal amount of pus exposed to the open air. Some older articles suggest that if you do a needle drainage, little additional advantage is provided by an open drainage.
I agree some abscesses can be treated with simple needle aspiration, hence the change in management of the breast abscesses, however I think the recommendation for most is still I&D. I like the idea of getting the culture that way though, but if you aspirate the abscess dry I find it harder to do the I&D because the pocket has collapsed.
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Rabbott - May 24, 2016 1:43 PM
Want to make your I&D less smelly, get uncontaminated material for culture, not drip pus all over your patient and the surroundings, and make cleanup easier? Needle drain the abscess - drain it dry. Then, if you still feel the need to do an open procedure, you'll have a minimal amount of pus exposed to the open air. Some older articles suggest that if you do a needle drainage, little additional advantage is provided by an open drainage.
Alfred S. - May 24, 2016 1:57 PM
I agree some abscesses can be treated with simple needle aspiration, hence the change in management of the breast abscesses, however I think the recommendation for most is still I&D. I like the idea of getting the culture that way though, but if you aspirate the abscess dry I find it harder to do the I&D because the pocket has collapsed.