Clinician Resources

July 22, 2016February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

Wound patient’s bill of rights

The Association for Advancement of Wound Care has developed the “Wound Care Patient’s Bill of Rights.” The 10 points include the right to:

• know what wound treatment options are available to you

• know the benefits, risks, and side effects of your wound care treatments

• participate in the development of your treatment plan with your wound care team

• have your pain adequately controlled.

The bill of rights is available in both English and Spanish. (more…)

Instill instead: Negative pressure wound therapy with instillation for complex wounds

July 20, 2016February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) uses negative pressure to draw wound edges together, remove edema and infectious material, and promote perfusion and granulation tissue development. The tissue stretch and compression created by negative pressure during NPWT promotes tissue perfusion and granulation tissue development through angiogenesis, cellular proliferation, fibroblast migration, increased production of wound healing proteins, and reduction of wound area. NPWT has been used to improve healing in a variety of wounds, including traumatic injuries, surgical wounds, pressure ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, and venous stasis ulcers. (more…)

How to manage peristomal skin problems

June 6, 2016February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

For an ostomy pouching system to adhere properly, the skin around the stoma must be dry and intact. Otherwise, peristomal skin problems and skin breakdown around the stoma may occur. In fact, these problems are the most common complications of surgical stomas. They can worsen the patient’s pain and discomfort, diminish quality of life, delay rehabilitation, increase use of ostomy supplies, and raise healthcare costs.

Peristomal skin problems also perpetuate a vicious cycle in ostomy patients: They impair adhesion of the pouching system, which in turn exacerbates the skin problem. That’s why maintaining peristomal skin integrity and addressing skin problems promptly are so crucial. (more…)

Clinician Resources: human trafficking, npuap, caregiver, ostomy, HIV

April 27, 2016February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

Check out the following resources, all designed to help you in your clinical practice.

Human trafficking resources

Victims of human trafficking often suffer tremendous physical and psychological damage. Clinicians play an important role in identifying potential victims so they can obtain help.

Here are some resources to learn more about human trafficking.

• “Addressing human trafficking in the health care setting” is an online course that includes a downloadable quick-reference guide that can be saved and easily accessed from a mobile device to assist providers with essential information in the healthcare setting. (more…)

Buzz Report: Latest trends, part 2

March 24, 2016February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

Keeping clinicians up-to-date on clinical knowledge is one of the main goals of the Wild on Wounds (WOW) conference held each September in Las Vegas. Every year, I present the opening session, called “The Buzz Report,” which focuses on the latest-breaking wound care news—what’s new, what’s now, and what’s coming up. I discuss new products, practice guidelines, resources, and tools from the last 12 months in skin, wound, and ostomy management.

In the January issue, I discussed some of the updates from my 2015 Buzz Report. Now I’d like to share a few more, along with some of my favorite resources. (more…)

Pros and cons of hydrocolloid dressings for diabetic foot ulcers

January 28, 2016February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

Diabetic foot ulcers stem from multiple factors, including peripheral neuropathy, high plantar pressures, decreased vascularity, and impaired wound healing. Contributing significantly to morbidity, they may cause limb loss and death. (See Foot ulcers and diabetes.)

Initially, hydrocolloid dressings were developed to function as part of the stomal flange. Based on their success in protecting peristomal skin, they were introduced gradually into other areas of wound care. They contain wafers of gel-forming polymers, such as gelatin, pectin, and cellulose agents, within a flexible water-resistant outer layer. The wafers absorb wound exudate, forming a gel and creating a moist healing environment. (more…)

Case study: Peristomal pyoderma gangrenosum

January 28, 2016February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

As a wound care specialist, you have learned about many skin conditions, some so unusual and rare that you probably thought you would never observe them. I’ve been a nurse for 38 years, with the last 10 years in wound care, and that’s certainly what I thought. But I was wrong. Let me tell you about my challenging patient with an unusual skin condition.

A perplexing patient (more…)

Seeing healthcare from a new perspective

November 19, 2015February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By: Donna Sardina, RN, MHA, WCC, CWCMS, DWC, OMS

As healthcare clinicians, our world is full of tasks to be completed. Some are new, but many are tasks we repeat every day and thus have become routine—things we could almost do in our sleep.

But what’s routine for us may not be routine for our patients. For some patients, these routine tasks of ours may be their first encounter with a healthcare situation. (more…)

Providing skin care for bariatric patients

November 19, 2015February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Gail R. Hebert, MS, RN CWCN, DWC, WCC, OMS

How would you react if you heard a 600-lb patient was being admitted to your unit? Some healthcare professionals would feel anxious—perhaps because they’ve heard bariatric patients are challenging to care for, or they feel unprepared to provide their care. (more…)

Role of the ostomy specialist clinician in ileal pouch anal anastomosis surgery

November 19, 2015February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Leanne Richbourg, MSN, RN, APRN-BC, CWON-AP, CCCN, GCNS-BC

Restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) is the gold standard for surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) or familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). It’s also done to treat colon and rectal cancers, such as those caused by Lynch syndrome (LS). IPAA allows the patient to maintain fecal continence and evacuate stool from the anus after colon and rectum removal. A temporary ileostomy may be part of the overall process, but there’s no need for a permanent stoma. (See Understanding ulcerative colitis, FAP, and Lynch syndrome.) (more…)

Case study: Early detection and treatment resolves a deep tissue injury

July 27, 2015February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Todd Zortman, RN, WCC, and James Malec, PhD

Pressure ulcers are a chronic healthcare burden for both patients and providers. Over 2.5 million patients in the United States are affected annually by pressure ulcers, with nearly 60,000 of those cases directly resulting in death. From a provider’s perspective, the cost of individual care ranges anywhere from $500 to $70,000 per pressure ulcer, which translates to annual costs in the U.S. approaching $11 billion. (more…)

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