Nursing Care Plan for Wound Infection
Also searched as: surgical site infection
Invasion of a wound by pathogens producing local or systemic signs of infection, most often at a surgical incision. Nursing care centers on early recognition, correct wound management, and preventing the infection from spreading.
🎓 Educational example. Adapt to your patient and have your instructor review it. Not medical advice.
Build your own Wound Infection care plan in minutes → the free Care Plan Builder walks you from assessment to evaluation and exports a clean PDF.
What do you assess in the Wound Infection care plan?
- Subjective: increased pain at the site, malaise, chills
- Objective: redness, warmth, and swelling around the wound, purulent or foul-smelling drainage, separating wound edges, fever, elevated WBC
Which nursing diagnoses apply to Wound Infection?
As evidenced by: purulent drainage, redness, delayed healing at the site
Risk factors: open draining wound, elevated WBC, fever
What are the goals and expected outcomes for Wound Infection?
Each goal below follows the SMART format: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound.
- The wound will show reduced redness, drainage, and pain, with no signs of spreading infection, over the treatment course.
- The patient will demonstrate correct wound care and infection-prevention technique before discharge.
What are the nursing interventions for Wound Infection, and why?
| Intervention | Rationale |
|---|---|
| Assess the wound each shift for size, drainage, odor, and surrounding tissue; monitor temperature and WBC trend. | Regular assessment distinguishes normal healing from worsening infection and catches systemic spread early. |
| Perform dressing changes and wound care using aseptic technique as ordered. | Aseptic technique limits introduction of additional organisms and supports closure. |
| Administer antibiotics as prescribed and monitor the patient's response. | Treats the underlying infection and helps confirm the chosen therapy is working. |
| Teach the patient and family hand hygiene, correct dressing-change technique, and which signs to report after discharge. | Home wound care depends on correct technique, and early reporting of worsening signs prevents complications. |
How do you evaluate the Wound Infection care plan?
- Wound shows less redness and drainage with improving edges
- Temperature and WBC trend toward normal
- Patient/family demonstrate correct wound care technique
Where do these Wound Infection recommendations come from?
Stop rewriting care plans by hand
CarePlanKit builds a complete, formatted care plan for any condition (assessment, diagnosis, SMART goals, interventions with rationale) and exports to PDF or Word in your school's format. Free to start.
Build a care plan free Preview Pro (coming soon)Which nursing diagnoses are used in Wound Infection?
Wound Infection care plan: FAQ
What is the nursing diagnosis for Wound Infection?
Common nursing diagnoses include: Impaired tissue integrity related to an infected surgical wound; Risk for spreading infection related to a compromised wound barrier. Choose the one your patient's assessment data supports.
What are nursing interventions for Wound Infection?
Key interventions: Assess the wound each shift for size, drainage, odor, and surrounding tissue; monitor temperature and WBC trend.; Perform dressing changes and wound care using aseptic technique as ordered.; Administer antibiotics as prescribed and monitor the patient's response., each paired with a rationale.
Can I use this care plan for my assignment?
Use it as a study example and starting draft. Always adapt it to your specific patient and have it reviewed by your instructor. This is an educational tool, not medical advice.
For nursing education only, NOT medical advice and not a clinical decision-making tool. Nothing here should be used to assess, diagnose, or treat any real patient. Care plans and answers are unverified study drafts to review with your instructor or a licensed clinician and adapt to the individual patient and your institution’s protocols before any use.
Last reviewed 2026-07. Educational content based on standard nursing practice; not medical advice and not affiliated with NANDA-I/NIC/NOC. Always follow your institution's protocols and your instructor's guidance.