Quiz: Wound Debridement as Biofilm Management

A 47-year-old man presents with a 0.5 × 2.0 × 0.3 cm diabetic foot ulcer on his left foot beneath his first metatarsal phalangeal joint. The patient reports a medical history of type 2 diabetes, diabetic peripheral polyneuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, chronic kidney disease, eczema, and asthma. The ulcer has been present for 3 weeks.

The patient has been applying an over-the-counter triple antibiotic ointment and covering the ulcer with a nonadherent gauze dressing. He reports that the ulcer did not appear to be healing, and instead seems to have grown larger. There is no pain, erythema, edema, or odor.

He ultimately undergoes biofilm-based wound management. At the patient’s return visit, he questions whether he needs sharp debridement again or if the biofilm that was disrupted at his first visit has been eradicated.