Each issue, Apple Bites brings you a tool you can apply in your daily practice. Here are examples of medications that can affect wound healing.
Assessment and care planning for wound healing should include a thorough review of the individual’s current medications to identify those that may affect healing outcomes. Clinicians must then weigh the risks and benefits of continuing or discontinuing the medications. In some cases, the risk of discontinuing the medication outweighs the importance of wound healing, so the goal of the care plan should be adjusted to “maintain a wound” instead of “healing.”
Nancy Morgan is cofounder of Wound Care Education Institute in Plainfield, Illinois.
Information in Apple Bites is courtesy of the Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI), © 2016.
Selected reference
Guo S, DiPietro LA. Factors affecting wound healing. J Dent Res. 2010;89(3):219-29.
