How to benefit from electrical stimulation for the treatment of chronic wounds

Electrical Stimulation Therapy

One of the most amazing things about the human body is its ability to repair itself. Lacerations, punctures, abrasions all heal with little or no care. Chronic wounds, those that persist day after day, are a small subset of wounds but they compose a troublesome minority. They include, but are not limited to, diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), venous leg ulcers (VLU), and pressure ulcers (colloquially known as bedsores). These represent the body’s failure to fix itself. (more…)

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Wound Photography – How it Benefits Clinical Documentation

wound photography

Accurate assessment and documentation of wounds is essential for developing a comprehensive plan of care. Photography now plays a key role in wound care. The use of digital photography has enhanced the reliability and accuracy of wound documentation. Though a wound assessment in patient files includes details such as location, depth, odor, condition of surrounding tissue and other details, a visual record can be worth even more.

Digital photography is becoming a more prevalent documentation tool. According to an article published in McKnight’s, forensic nursing experts recommend using photographs to document injury. The photos show both how an injury occurred and how it is healing.

The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) also supports photography as a more accurate means for assessment of wound dimensions and wound base over time.

A visual confirmation to the written record, these images:

  • Facilitate better diagnosis
  • Enhance clinical documentation
  • Help to monitor the progress of wound healing
  • Help prevent litigation in wound management
  • Allow inter-disciplinary communication among the wound care team

Read more at Wound Wizard

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Helping patients with lower-extremity disease benefit from exercise

By Jeri Lundgren, BSN, RN, PHN, CWS, CWCN

Research has shown that exercise can help ease symptoms in patients with arterial insufficiency, venous insufficiency, neuropathic disease, or a combination of these conditions. Here’s what you need to know to ensure your patients reap the most benefits from exercise. (more…)

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Gene Therapy for Non-Healing Diabetic Foot Ulcers Starts Phase III Trial

Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Safety and Efficacy Study of VM202 in the Treatment of Chronic Non-Healing Foot Ulcers. This study will assess the safety and efficacy of using gene therapy via intramuscular injections of the calf for patients with chronic non-healing foot ulcers.

The first patient has been dosed in a Phase III trial assessing ViroMed’s VM202, the first pivotal study of a gene therapy indicated for patients with nonhealing diabetic foot ulcers (NHU) and concomitant peripheral artery disease (PAD).

The Phase III trial (NCT02563522) is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study designed to evaluate VM202 for safety and efficacy in 300 adults with a diabetic foot ulcer and concomitant PAD. Two hundred patients will be randomized to VM202 and the other 100 to placebo, ViroMed’s U.S. division VM BioPharma said yesterday. (more…)

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Compression Sock for Excessive Sitting or Standing

Helping Patients with Lymphedema

Success as an HME compression provider takes commitment, education and an understanding that there is more to compression beyond the feet.

The compression sock is an integral product to carry for any HME provider committed to using compression technology to help patients. Compression doesn’t even need to be required due a medical condition – it’s an almost universal need. Sitting or standing for excessive amounts of time can be terrible for your health, especially the feet. For example, sitting with your legs crossed beneath your chair can cause pressure that results in swollen ankles or varicose veins. And standing all day at work can cause issues from your neck all the way to your feet. (more…)

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AlloFuse® Select CM Supports Your Patient’s Healing

ALLOFUSE® CORTICAL FIBERS & ALLOFUSE® FIBER BOAT

AlloFuse® Select CM – clinically proven to activate and support bone formation and can be used in a variety of spinal, neurologic, and orthopedic procedures.

AlloSource, one of the nation’s largest providers of cartilage, bone, skin, soft-tissue, and cellular allografts to advance patient healing in surgical procedures and wound care, today announced the release of AlloFuse® Select CM, a premium addition to AlloSource’s AlloFuse portfolio. (more…)

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Antibiotic use in pressure injury infections

antibiotic overuse pressure injury infection

Antibiotic overuse contributes to the problems of antibiotic resistance and healthcare acquired infections, such as Clostridium difficile. Antibiotic stewardship programs improve patient outcomes, reduce antimicrobial resistance, and save money. These programs are designed to ensure patients receive the right antibiotic, at the right dose, at the right time, and for the right duration. (more…)

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3 reasons why cornea is the new Glaucoma

Glaucoma

development of glaucomaOphthalmology is a great specialty partly because procedures, devices and drugs constantly evolve, keeping us learning and giving our patients better care. Ask your colleagues in other specialties, and you’ll find that the pace of change in most other medical fields is not nearly as rapid as in ours.

Over the past few years, this pace of change has been very evident in glaucoma, where minimally invasive procedures have greatly diminished the frequency of trabeculectomy and tube shunt procedures. In this issue of OSN, our cover story focuses on a specialty that’s now moving as quickly as glaucoma. And here are three reasons I believe cornea will continue to be the “next big thing” in eye care: (more…)

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Flexible Materials Innovations Advances Wound Care

Flexible Materials Innovations Advances Wound Care

The cutting-edge of wound care is a progressively flexible one, where textiles, foams, and films are applied to wound management technology with the goal of synergistic physiological function. These innately intuitive materials underpin the emerging medical solutions that practitioners and their patients are finding more effective than traditional wound care and closure methods. With an aging population more frequently seeking medical care and a surge in diabetes diagnoses, market analysts predict a continuing rise in demand for advanced wound care management products, fueling an annual industry growth rate of 6.4% over the next five years. (more…)

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Wound care technology invented at S&T hits marketplace

Wound care technology invented at S&T

A glass-based wound care product that emerged from research by a doctoral student at Missouri University of Science and Technology has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for human use and is now available on the commercial market.

Steve Jung laid the groundwork for the Mirragen Advanced Wound Matrix while earning a master’s degree in ceramic engineering and a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering at Missouri S&T. Jung is now chief technology officer at Mo-Sci Corp., a Rolla specialty glass manufacturer that continued the product’s development in collaboration with ETS Wound Care, also of Rolla. (more…)

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Educational Webinars

Healing Wounds with Collagen: Knowing the Difference Makes All the Difference

Healing Wounds with Collagen: Knowing the Difference Makes All the Difference

This 30-minute presentation features learning opportunities that will provide in-depth instruction and demonstration in wound care treatments. After this webinar, the learner will be able to:

  • The Indications and Contraindications for Collagen
  • What a Wound Wants and Needs; and Why
  • Considerations of Collagen in Treating & Healing Wounds

Innovations in Wound Care: The role of wound cleansing in the management of wounds

Skin Damage Associated with Moisture and Pressure

This 30-minute presentation features learning opportunities that will provide in-depth instruction and demonstration in wound care treatments. After this webinar, the learner will be able to:

  • Identify the role of proper wound cleansing
  • Discuss how to select and use non-toxic wound cleansers
  • Describe advantages of collagen for managing a chronic wound

Skin Damage Associated with Moisture and Pressure

Skin Damage Associated with Moisture and PressureTips for how to differentiate and goals for protection and management. At the end of the webinar you will be able to:

  • Identify how wounds are classified according to wound depth and etiology
  • Describe the etiology of pressure injury and incontinence-associated skin damage (IAD)
  • Understand evidenced-based protocols of care for prevention and management of IAD and pressure injuries
  • Recognize and describe NPUAP-EPUAP Pressure Injury Classification System
  • Understand appropriate ConvaTec products that can be used for prevention and treatment of IAD and pressure injuries

Winning the battle of skin tears in an aging population

CFO/CNO Partnership for Workforce Management Outcomes: Benefits of Acuity-based Staffing

"Skin tears" may sound like a relatively minor event, but in reality, these injuries can have a significant impact on the quality of patients' lives in the form of pain, infection, and limited mobility.

The incidence of skin tears has been reported to be as high as 1.5 million annually, and with an aging population, this number is likely to go higher.

In this webinar, experts will explain how nurses can use an evidence-based approach -- including following practice guidelines to assess the wound and select the proper dressing -- for managing skin tears and minimizing their negative effects.

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