<p>Diagnosing when a wound is critically colonised can be difficult because these wounds do not display classical signs of infection and do not have clearly elevated levels of bioburden. Recent research suggests that the critically colonised state of a wound may be more precisely described as a colonisation by polymicrobial biofilm communities. Biofilm-based wound care emphasises the debridement of biofilms combined with the use of bacterial barrier dressings that prevent their rapid reformation.</p>