What are typical signs of infection in chronic versus acute wounds?

• A. Chronic wound: fever, leukocytosis.
• B. Chronic wound: dryness.
• C. Chronic wound: persistent foul drainage, increased exudate, rising pain, periwound erythema; Acute wound: fever, leukocytosis, rapidly spreading redness, increasing pain.
• D. Acute wound: no pain.

Answer: (C)

Infection signs differ by whether a wound is chronic or acute. Chronic wounds often harbor bacteria without triggering a strong systemic response, so the infection tends to show up locally. Look for persistent foul drainage or odor, increased exudate, rising pain, and periwound erythema around the wound edges. These reflect ongoing inflammation and bacterial load at the wound site.

Acute wounds that become infected typically provoke a brisk systemic reaction. You’d expect fever and leukocytosis, along with rapidly spreading redness (cellulitis) and increasing pain, signaling a more aggressive inflammatory response.

So the combination described—local signs in the chronic wound (persistent foul drainage, increased exudate, rising pain, periwound erythema) and systemic signs in the acute wound (fever, leukocytosis, rapidly spreading redness, increasing pain)—best matches how infection presents in these two contexts. Dryness is not an infection sign, and acute infection does not imply no pain.