Which of the following wound classes is assigned to a bowel case in which the resident perforated during the procedure?

In surgical wound classification, a bowel perforation during a procedure is categorized as a contaminated wound, which aligns with the characteristics of a class III wound. Class III wounds are defined as those that are contaminated but likely do not have an active infection. This classification is applicable in situations where there has been a significant breach in sterile technique or normal tissue integrity, such as through a perforation in the bowel, exposing underlying tissue to potential pathogens and contaminants.

Class I wounds are clean, meaning they are made under sterile conditions without any significant risk for infection. Class II wounds are clean-contaminated, involving surgical procedures in areas that are not sterile but typically have low microbial loads. Class IV wounds, on the other hand, are considered dirty and infected, as they involve old traumatic wounds with devitalized tissue or existing infection.

Given that bowel perforation introduces contaminants into the surgical field, leading to a higher risk of infection, a class III classification appropriately reflects the circumstances of the wound at the time of occurrence, marking it as contaminated but not necessarily infected at that moment.