Clinician Resources

January 30, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

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…)

Clinical Notes: diabetic foot osteomyelitis, BIA, footwear

January 30, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

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…)

Have you made your New Year’s resolutions?

January 30, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

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…)

When and how to culture a chronic wound

January 30, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

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…)

Making sure patients have the ostomy supplies they need

November 21, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Connie Johnson, BSN, RN, WCC, LLE, OMS, DAPWCA

No matter where you work or who your distributors are, ensuring the patient has sufficient ostomy supplies can be a challenge. Whether you’re the nurse, the physician, the patient, or the family, not having supplies for treatments can heighten frustration with an already challenging situation, such as a new ostomy. Here’s how to reduce the chance of experiencing frustrations related to ostomy supplies. (more…)

How do you prove a wound was unavoidable?

November 21, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

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

A pressure ulcer that a patient acquires in your facility or a patient’s existing pressure ulcer that worsens puts your organization at risk for regulatory citations as well as litigation. Unless you can prove the pressure ulcer was unavoidable, you could find yourself burdened with citations or fines, or could even end up in court. (more…)

The long and short of it: Understanding compression bandaging

November 21, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Robyn Bjork, MPT, WCC, CWS, CLT-LANA

Margery Smith, age 82, arrives at your wound clinic for treatment of a shallow, painful ulcer on the lateral aspect of her right lower leg. On examination, you notice weeping and redness of both lower legs, 3+ pitting edema, several blisters, and considerable denudement of the periwound skin. She is wearing tennis shoes and her feet have relatively little edema, but her ankles are bulging over the edges of her shoes; both socks are wet. Stemmer’s sign is negative. The wound on the right leg is draining copious amounts of clear fluid; it’s dressed with an alginate, which is secured with conforming roll gauze. No signs or symptoms of infection are present. (more…)

Clinical Notes: Pressure-Ulcer Data, Diabetic Foot Ulcers, IFG & HbA1c

November 21, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

Hospital pressure-ulcer comparison data not accurate

Performance scores for rates of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers might not be appropriate for comparing hospitals, according to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

“Hospital report cards for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers: How good are the grades?,” funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, analyzed 2 million all-payer administrative records from 448 California hospitals and quarterly hospital surveillance data from 213 hospitals from the Collaborative Alliance for Nursing Outcomes. (more…)

Skin problems with chronic venous insufficiency and phlebolymphedema

November 21, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

Dermatologic difficulties: Skin problems in patients with chronic venous insufficiency and phlebolymphedema By Nancy Chatham, RN, MSN, ANP-BC, CWOCN, CWS; Lori Thomas, MS, OTR/L, CLT-LANA; and Michael Molyneaux, MD

Skin problems associated with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and phlebolymphedema are common and often difficult to treat. The CVI cycle of skin and soft tissue injury from chronic disease processes can be unrelenting. If not properly identified and treated, these skin problems can impede the prompt treatment of lymphedema and reduce a patient’s quality of life.

This article reviews skin problems that occur in patients with CVI and phlebolymphedema and discusses the importance of using a multidisciplinary team approach to manage these patients. (more…)

How dietary protein intake promotes wound healing

November 19, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Nancy Collins, PhD, RD, LD/N, FAPWCA, and Allison Schnitzer

Nutrition is a critical factor in the wound healing process, with adequate protein intake essential to the successful healing of a wound. Patients with both chronic and acute wounds, such as postsurgical wounds or pressure ulcers, require an increased amount of protein to ensure complete and timely healing of their wounds.

Elderly patients with wounds pose a special challenge because of their decreased lean body mass and the likelihood of chronic illnesses and insufficient dietary protein intake. To promote a full recovery, wound care clinicians must address the increased protein needs of wound patients, especially elderly patients. (more…)

Dealing with difficult people

September 25, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

Unfortunately, most clinicians can’t avoid having to work with difficult people. However we can learn how to be more effective in these situations, keeping in mind that learning to work with difficult people is both an art and a science.

How difficult people differ from the rest of us

We can all be difficult at times, but some people are difficult more often. They demonstrate such behaviors as arguing a point over and over, choosing their own self-interest over what’s best for the team, talking rather than listening, and showing disrespect. These behaviors can become habits. In most cases, difficult people have received feedback about their behavior at some time, but they haven’t made a consistent change. (See Is she a bully or a difficult person? by clicking the PDf icon above) (more…)

Compassionate care: The crucial difference for ostomy patients

September 25, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Gail Hebert, RN, MS, CWCN, WCC, DWC, LNHA, OMS; and Rosalyn Jordan, BSN, RN, MSc, CWOCN, WCC, OMS

Imagine your physician has just told you that your rectal pain and bleeding are caused by invasive colon cancer and you need prompt surgery. She then informs you that surgery will reroute your feces to an opening on your abdominal wall. You will be taught how to manage your new stoma by using specially made ostomy pouches, but will be able to lead a normal life.

Like most people, you’d probably be in shock after hearing this. More than 700,000 people in the United States are living with ostomies. Every year, at least 100,000 ostomy surgeries are done, preceded by a conversation much like the one above. So how do patients recover from the shock of learning about their pending surgery—and then return to a full life? (more…)

« 1 … 10 11 12 13 14 … 16 »