“Best of the Best” three-peat

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

What do the Los Angeles Lakers, Green Bay Packers, Montreal Canadiens, and New York Yankees have in common? All three have “three-peated”, meaning they have won three consecutive championships. This year, we at Wound Care Advisor, the official journal of the National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy (NAWCO), mark our own three-peat—our third annual “Best of the Best” issue. (more…)

Mild compression diabetic socks safe and effective for lower extremity edema

Diabetic socks with mild compression can reduce lower extremity edema in patients with diabetes without adversely affecting arterial circulation, according to a randomized control trial presented at the American Diabetes Association 75th Scientific Sessions Conference. (more…)

Clinician Resources: NPUAP, Pressure Ulcer Treatment, NIOSH

The resources below will help you address issues in your practice.

NPUAP position statement on hand check for bottoming out

Use of the hand check to determine “bottoming out” of support systems should be limited to static air overlay mattresses, according to a position statement from the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP). (more…)

Helping patients overcome ostomy challenges

By Beth Hoffmire Heideman, MSN, RN

No one wants an ostomy, but sometimes it’s required to save a patient’s life. As ostomy specialists, our role is to assess and intervene for patients with a stoma or an ostomy to enhance their quality of life. We play an active role in helping patients perform self-care for their ostomy and adjust to it psychologically, starting even before surgery. (more…)

Providing evidence-based care for patients with lower-extremity cellulitis

By Darlene Hanson, PhD, RN; Diane Langemo, PhD, RN, FAAN; Patricia Thompson, MS, RN; Julie Anderson, PhD, RN; and Keith Swanson, MD

Cellulitis is an acute, painful, and potentially serious spreading bacterial skin infection that affects mainly the subcutaneous and dermal layers. Usually of an acute onset, it’s marked by redness, warmth, swelling, and tenderness. Borders of the affected skin are characteristically irregular. Although cellulitis may occur in many body areas, this article discusses the most common location—the lower limb. (more…)

Get the ‘SKINNI’ on reducing pressure ulcers

By Cindy Barefield, BSN, RN-BC, CWOCN

Like many hospitals, Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital uses national benchmarks such as the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI^®) to measure quality outcomes. Based on benchmark reports that showed an increased trend of pressure ulcers in critically ill patients in our hospital, the clinical nurses in our Critical Care Shared Governance Unit-Based Council (CCSGUBC) identified an improvement opportunity. (more…)

Evolution of the deep tissue injury or a declining pressure ulcer?

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

A declining pressure ulcer decreases the quality of life for patients and places providers at risk for regulatory citations and litigation. But it’s important for clinicians to determine whether the first appearance of skin injury is truly a stage I or II pressure ulcer or if it’s a deep tissue injury (DTI), a unique staging category for a pressure ulcer. Otherwise, a clinician might think a pressure ulcer is getting worse instead of the change being the normal progression of a pressure ulcer that is presenting as a DTI. (more…)

Medical gauze 101

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.

Medical gauze, a bleached white cloth or fabric used in bandages, dressings, and surgical sponges, is the most widely used wound care dressing. Commonly known as “4×4s,” gauze is made from fibers of cotton, rayon, polyester, or a combination of these fibers. Surgical gauze must meet standards of purity, thread count, construction, and sterility according to the United States Pharmacopeia. (more…)

Palliative wound care: Part 1

By Gail Rogers Hebert, MS, RN, CWCN, WCC, DWC, OMS, LNHA

The World Health Organization defines palliative care as “an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.” (more…)

Creating effective education programs on a shoestring budget

By Jennifer Oakley, BS, RN, WCC, DWC, OMS

It’s time again for annual staff education, and you, the certified wound clinician, need to teach the staff at your organization. You dream of staff entering a state-of-the-art classroom with computers at each station, mannequins, wound anatomy models, and enough products for each student to do hands-on demonstrations. But when you open your eyes, you’re sitting in a room with ordinary tables and chairs, your laptop, a screen, a brain full of knowledge, and a very tight budget. (more…)