Clinician Resources

Greet the new year by tapping into some new resources.

Free app for patients with Crohn’s Disease

GI Buddy is a free tool from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America that patients can use to stay on top of managing their Crohn’s Disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms. Patients can record what they eat, track their treatment and well-being, and access detailed reports. Patients also can access a video of tips for using GI Buddy, which is available online and as an iPhone app. (more…)

Antibiotics and conservative surgery yield similar outcomes in patients with diabetic foot osteomyelitis

A study in Diabetes Care finds that antibiotics and surgery have similar outcomes related to rate of healing, time of healing, and short-term complications in patients who have neuropathic forefoot ulcers and osteomyelitis, but no ischemia or necrotizing soft-tissue infections.

“Antibiotics versus conservative surgery for treating diabetic foot osteomyelitis. A randomized comparative trial” compared two groups: an antibiotics group and a surgery group. Patients in the antibiotics group received antibiotics for 90 days, and patients in the surgery group received conservative surgery with postoperative antibiotics for 10 days. (more…)

Quality-improvement initiative: Classifying and documenting surgical wounds

By Jennifer Zinn, MSN, RN, CNS-BC, CNOR, and Vangela Swofford, BSN, RN, ASQ-CSSBB

For surgical patients, operative wound classification is crucial in predicting postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs) and associated risks. Information about a patient’s wound typically is collected by circulating registered nurses (RNs) and documented at the end of every surgical procedure. (more…)

How to apply a spiral wrap

By Nancy Morgan, RN, BSN, MBA, WOC, WCC, DWC, OMS

Each issue, Apple Bites brings you a tool you can apply in your daily practice.

Description

The spiral wrap is a technique used for applying compression bandaging.

Procedure

Here’s how to apply a spiral wrap to the lower leg. Please note that commercial compression wraps come with specific instructions for proper bandaging technique. Be sure to follow these instructions to provide safe and effective compression. (more…)

Have you made your New Year’s resolutions?

Aresolution is a serious decision or determination to do, or not to do, something. Traditionally, most New Year’s resolutions focus on self-improvement: losing weight, giving up a bad habit, exercising more, being a better person. Because most of us spend about half of our waking lives at work, perhaps our work lives should be the subject

of some of our resolutions. Here are a few work-related resolutions I’ve come up with: (more…)

By Marcia Spear, DNP, ACNP-BC, CWS, CPSN

Chronic wound infections are a significant healthcare burden, contributing to increased morbidity and mortality, prolonged hospitalization, limb loss, and higher medical costs. What’s more, they pose a potential sepsis risk for patients. For wound care providers, the goal is to eliminate the infection before these consequences arise.

Most chronic wounds are colonized by polymicrobial aerobic-anaerobic microflora. However, practitioners continue to debate whether wound cultures are relevant. Typically, chronic wounds aren’t cultured unless the patient has signs and symptoms of infection, which vary depending on whether the wound is acute or chronic. (See Differentiating acute and chronic wounds.) (more…)

A case of missed care

By Lydia A. Meyers RN, MSN, CWCN

Missed care, a relatively new concept in the medical community, refers to any part ofrequired patient care that is omitted of delayed. It’s not the same as a mistake or error, but like them, missed care can negatively affect patient outcomes.

I want to share the case of a patient admitted into home health care for wound care. The case includes several areas of missed care from many different different sources. (more…)

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Year: 2014