----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Curphey
> Interesting. Places I have worked in have reused glue tubes. I have never
> tought of it as a problem; glue does not strike me as a decent substrate
for
> bugs to grow. I may be very wrong.
I think you're probably correct but sadly no evidence!! I can feel a BET
coming on...
> Do not scalp lacerations have a very low infective risk anyway (because
they
> bleed so much)?
Low infective risk because of a good blood supply, if that's what you mean.
> David Currie, neurosurgeon in Aberdeen, for whom I had the pleasure of
> working with (as he said) told me I "would have to chuck dung into it"
> before a scalp wound became infected.
He may be speaking from a "rarefied" position - clearly elective neuro heads
can be sterilised, although even neurosurgeons occasionally see prehospital
scalp wounds. In my experience scalp wounds are pretty hardy, but I've seen
one or two nasty infections and they're awkward to treat, partly as they're
impossible to dress!! But like all prehospital wounds, I make no special
effort to provide "sterility"; any infection that'll occur will usually have
been inoculated at the time of injury.
Adrian Fogarty
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