Health care providers need to acquire an understanding of the steps involved in surgical wound healing and an awareness of the factors, which promote or delay the healing process to enable them to assist their clients through the peri-operative period. This acquired skill is necessary to (a) ensure quality care, (b) facilitate the cost effectiveness of care, (c) improve patient, provider, and facility outcomes, and (d) increase patient satisfaction. One factor that influences surgical wound healing in patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery is serum glucose levels. Knowledge of when serum glucose levels increase assists healthcare providers formulate effective protocols for serum glucose control to facilitate surgical wound healing and the prevention of surgical site infections.
