The diagnosis of wound infection is made clinically, based on signs and symptoms that a patient has, or non-healing despite the best care. Although empiric antibiotics may be started on a patient with a wound infection, cultures are also obtained to guide antibiotic therapy moving forward. What are covert and overt signs and symptoms of infection? How should a culture be taken to optimally identify infecting bacteria? What does the clinician do with the information from the culture report? This session will address these questions and provide guidance regarding best practice.