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http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/559989?src=mp Hanifin J et al (2007) Almost as if to emphasise the need for the novel strategy of the last piece a new study shows just how much dermatitis there is around. Eczema and atopic dermatitis (AD) are major health problems with prevalence estimates in some countries as high as one-third of the population. This new study was a self-administered questionnaire to a sample of 60,000 households representative of the US population. 42,249 households (70%) responded, representing 116,202 individuals. Of the population studied, 17.1% reported at least one of four eczematous symptoms; empirically defined eczema was found in 10.7%, and empirically defined AD was found in 6%. Prevalence decreased with increasing income. The conclusions were that a substantial proportion of the US population has eczema or eczematous conditions.
It is imperative that wound assessment is a systematic process that involves a comprehensive review of the situation. The TIME wound assessment tool facilitates this systematic approach by assessing the key areas; tissue type, infection and or inflammation, moisture imbalance and the edge of the wound. This systematic review will enable the clinician to highlight areas of progress and importantly areas of concern that may be delaying the healing process. Previously wound assessment may have been viewed as a ritualistic process with the clinician ticking the boxes but not assimilating the information and making a judgement regarding the overall status of the wound, thereby missing the opportunity to intervene in a non-healing situation. The TIME wound assessment form facilitates decision making and requires the clinician to summarise the status of the wound, indicate objectives and suggest a dressing regimen.
The UK TIME advisory board is aware that this is going some way to achieve three of their four objectives:
However to assist in the widespread utilisation of the form the advisory board are working on the next stage of the process; the development of a glossary of terms to accompany the TIME wound assessment tool. If you would like to access the form for use in your clinical practice please click on the link below. As with any new initiative we would welcome your feedback and suggestions for improvement. We look forward to seeing the TIME wound assessment tool in clinical practice. Click here to download the TIME assessment tool - (PDF)
The site has been developed as part of Mölnlycke Health Care's commitment to making wound care, particularly at dressing changes, as painless as possible for patients. Trauma to the wound and surrounding skin, and pain to the patient, at dressing changes is a major concern among wound care professionals¹. The new website is easy to navigate and provides information to patients on different types of wounds and how they heal, the role of dressings and how they work, and explains the causes of pain and how it can be reduced. There is also a hints and tips section on how patients can help reduce trauma and pain for themselves. For healthcare professionals there is advice on how to minimise pain and trauma at wound dressing changes and information on different types of dressings available. The site also provides techniques that can be adopted for assessing and monitoring pain during dressing changes. Pain is a source of significant stress to patients, which has been proven to cause a delay in the wound healing. Pain and anxiety at wound dressing changes also have a negative impact on the patient's quality of life. The Mölnlycke Health Care Heal Not Hurt Campaign aims to establish a routine pain assessment for all patients by involving them in their treatment. The campaign also provides ongoing training and education to practitioners on best practice at dressing changes. Mölnlycke Health Care's dressings use Safetac technology, a patented soft silicone adhesive technology, which minimises trauma to the wound and surrounding skin, and minimises pain for the patient on removal2,3,4. A dressing with Safetac technology can be re-applied without losing its adherent properties. When removing a dressing with Safetac technology, unlike traditional adhesive dressings, no stripping of epidermal cells occurs. Safetac dressings leave no residue, meaning less foreign particles in the wound, which saves nurses time cleansing the wound at dressing changes. This also contributes to making dressings with Safetac technology more cost effective than traditional dressings. Chris Lane, Senior Marketing Manager, Mölnlycke Health Care, says: "The Heal Not Hurt Campaign aims to improve the quality of life for patients with wounds. This new website will hopefully let people know that they do not have to suffer in silence. We want patients and their families to know that there is an alternative to pain and trauma during dressing changes."
For more information on Safetac®, contact Mölnlycke Health Care on 0800 7311 876 or email info.uk@molnlycke.com V1STA Smith & Nephew is delighted to announce the launch of V1STA, our negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) system. V1STA is easy to use in clinical practice providing gentle and affordable negative pressure wound therapy. At Smith & Nephew we believe this latest addition to our portfolio means that for every wound, at every stage, we can provide an appropriate solution tailored to your needs. For more information about this or any of our product range please contact Smith & Nephew on 01482 222200 or advice@smith-nephew.com
Whilst out roaming in the cyber fields of Computerdom, a place very near home, I came across a ripe field of guidelines that I was previously unaware of, and from a speedy glance look worthy of closer scrutiny. Published in Nov - Dec 2006 issue (vol 14 No 6 pp 645 - 711) of Wound Repair and Regeneration and free to download, harvest them via the link www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/wrr/14/6 they are on venous ulcers, arterial ulcers, pressure ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers. WoundSpecialist.com Worth a look if you are not already registered, WoundSpecialist.com in-house writer, the mysterious Mr Perry Lesion, manages to root out little nuggets of interest. Current topics on the site include research news into wound infection diagnostics, honey research, and investigations into anti-biofilm products. Hospital Episode Statistics online. Last month I had a look at cellulitis. This time it is the turn of split skin grafts, of which there were 4409 admissions in England and 49,762 bed days which by my reckoning makes average length of stay at just over 11 days. Interestingly looking at the finished consultant episode (FCE) data there is a difference in the age ranges of males and females of when the majority of skin grafting takes place. Of 2610 FCEs for males the majority 1503 were recorded for the 15 - 59 age group, and for females of 2269 FCEs 1019 were for the 75+ group, suggesting different aetiologies. Find out your local statistics on:- http://www.hesonline.nhs.uk/Ease/servlet/ContentServer?siteID=1937&categoryID=537
Gates J (2005), Venous stasis ulcers in the patient who is obese. J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs.32(6):421-6; discussion 426-9. Moore K, Huddleston E, Stacey M, Harding K (2007) Venous leg ulcers - the search for a prognostic indicator. Int Wound J. 4: 2; 163 - 172 Pressure Ulcers Bolton L (2007) Evidence corner: pressure ulcer risk scales. Wounds. 19: 6; A16-A23. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/561359 Jones K, Fennie K (2007)Factors influencing pressure ulcer healing in adults over 50: an exploratory study. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 8: 6; 378 - 387. Burns Jewell L, Guerrero R, et al (2007) Rate of healing in skin-grafted burn wounds. Plast Reconstr Surg. 120: 2; 451 - 456. Armour A Shankowsky et al (2007) The impact of nosocomially-acquired resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in a burn unit. J Trauma. 63: 1; 164 - 171. Minor Trauma Henderson V (2007) Treatment options for pretibial lacerations. Br J Community Nurs.12: 6; S22, S24-6. Vascular Hanafusa T, Yamaguchi Y, Katayama I (2007) Intractable wounds caused by arteriosclerosis obliterans with end-stage renal disease treated by aggressive debridement and epidermal grafting. J Am Acad Dermatol. 57: 2; 322 - 326. Surgical Clifton R, Haleem S, McKee A, Parker MJ. (2007), Closed suction surgical wound drainage after hip fracture surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Int Orthop. Aug 9; [Epub ahead of print] Kordasiewicz L (2004), Abdominal wound with a fistula and large amount of drainage status after incarcerated hernia repair.J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs. 31: 3; 150 - 152; discussion 152-3. Jewell L, Guerrero R et al (2007) Rate of healing in skin-grafted burn wounds. Plast Reconstr Surg. 120: 2; 451 - 456. Dermatology Angus J, Affleck A et al (2007) Dermatitis artefacta in a 12-year-old girl mimicking cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Pediatr Dermatol. 24: 3; 327 - 329. Misery L, Finlay A et al (2007) Atopic dermatitis: impact on the quality of life of patients and their partners. Dermatology. 215: 2; 123 - 129. Holubar K. (2007), Clinical Diagnostic Aids in Dermatology. Dermatology. 215: 2; 91 - 94 Jong C, Statham B et al (2007) Contact sensitivity to preservatives in the UK, 2004-2005: results of multicentre study. Contact Dermatitis. 2007 Sep;57(3):165-8. Guillen S, Khachemoune A (2007) Pemphigus vulgaris: A short review for the practitioner. Dermatology Nursing. 19: 3; 269 - 272 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/560623 Hanifin J, Reed M, Eczema Prevalence and Impact Working Group (2007) A population-based survey of eczema prevalence in the United States. Dermatitis. 18: 2; 82 - 91. Debridement Stephen- Haynes J, Thompson G (2007), The different methods of wound debridement. Br J Community Nurs. 12: 6; S6, S8-10, S12-14, S16. Exudate Young S (2007) Does Allevyn foam's management system improve wound healing? Br J Community Nurs. 12: 6; S31 - 34. Fungating wounds Lee G, Anand S et al (2007) Efficacy of commercial dressings in managing malodorous wounds. Br J Nurs. 16: 6; S14, S16, S18-20 Topical Negative Pressure Campbell P (2006), Surgical wound case studies with the versatile 1 wound vacuum system for negative pressure wound therapy. J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs. 33: 2; 176 - 185; discussion 185-90. Gray M, Peirce B. (2004) Is negative pressure wound therapy effective for the management of chronic wounds? J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs. 31: 3; 101 - 105. Review. McCord S, Naik-Mathuria et al (2007) Negative pressure therapy is effective to manage a variety of wounds in infants and children. Wound Repair Regen. 15: 3; 296 - 301. Diagnostics Svoboda P, Kantorova I et al (2007) Can procalcitonin help us in timing of re-intervention in septic patients after multiple trauma or major surgery? Hepatogastroenterology. 54: 74; 359 - 363. Various Ferreira M, Tuma P et al (2006) Complex wounds. Clinics. 61: 6; 571 - 578. Review Dickinson E, DeRoos F (2007) Images in emergency medicine. Chronic neck pain from a retained needle as a result of intravenous drug use. Acute neck abscess and cellulitis with retained needle fragments as a result of intravenous drug use.Ann Emerg Med. 50: 2; 198, 210. Stremitzer S Wild T, Hoelzenbein T (2007) How precise is the evaluation of chronic wounds by health care professionals? Int Wound J. 4: 2; 156 - 161. Hodde J Allam R (2007) Submucosa wound matrix for chronic wound healing Wounds. 2007;19(2):157-162. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/561361 Nataraj C, Ritter G, Dumas S, Helfer F, Brunelle J, Sander T (2007) Extracellular wound matrices: Novel stabilization and sterilization method for collagen-based biologic wound dressings Wounds. 19: 6; 148 - 156.
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Download this newsletter in PDF formatSeptmeber 2007 |
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