Why Is the Information Obtained from a Swab Culture of a Wound

question 12

Multiple Choice

Why is the information obtained from a swab culture of a wound limited?

• A) A positive culture does not necessarily indicate infection because chronic wounds are often colonized with bacteria.
• B) A negative culture may not indicate infection because chronic wounds are often colonized with bacteria.
• C) Most wound infections are viral, so the swab culture would not be indicative of a wound infection.
• D) A swab culture result does not include bacterial sensitivity information necessary to provide treatment.

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Definitions:

Sample Variance

A measure of the variability or spread of a sample data set, calculated as the average of the squared differences from the sample mean.

Sample Mean

The mean of a collection of numbers, determined by adding all the values together and then dividing the total by the count of values in the set.

Median

The middle value in a dataset when arranged in ascending or descending order, effectively dividing the dataset into two equal halves.

Central Tendency

A statistical measure that identifies a single value as representative of an entire distribution of data, typically the mean, median, or mode.