Ability of patient to provide own ostomy care called into question

May 27th, 2020
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ostomy

As a wound care nurse, you teach your patients how to care for their wounds, including a colostomy.

You teach them as they observe treatments you provide, such as ostomy care, while they are at a clinic.

It also includes orally reciting your care as you carry out treatment and direct the patient. This empowers them to understand what is required for appropriate personal care. 

You also might write down instructions and diagrams about required treatment that patients can take home and reference.

The teach-back method of patient instruction incorporates both of these approaches. This is when you have the patient repeat back what you instruct and demonstrate the care you described.

Any patient teaching also requires that the patient comprehend your:

  • Demonstration of care
  • Verbal instructions
  • Ability to carry out the treatment
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Posted in Ostomy, Stoma, Wound care documentation, Wound care litigation | Comments Off on Ability of patient to provide own ostomy care called into question

Malignant wounds: How to identify and treat them

May 20th, 2020
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malignant wounds

Some wound care clinicians have experience caring for patients with malignant wounds.

But you may not be familiar with them at all. We recently spoke with a malignant wounds expert to learn more about them.

That expert is Joni Brinker, MSN/MHA, RN, WCC, an Ohio-based consultant and clinical nurse educator with Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services of Eden Prairie, Minn.

She is a returning speaker for our 2020 virtual Wild on Wounds (WOW) national conference in September. She offered the following explanation.

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Posted in Infection, Wild on Wounds Conference, Wound and skin management, Wound care education | Comments Off on Malignant wounds: How to identify and treat them

Maggot debridement therapy and leech therapy are viable options

May 13th, 2020
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maggot debridement therapy

Using maggots and leeches in the healthcare setting can make many people cringe, including seasoned wound care clinicians.

But the age-old treatments of maggot debridement therapy and leech therapy are relatively inexpensive and fairly effective.

“Maggot therapy can save a limb in approximately 40% to 60% of patients scheduled for amputation,” said Ronald Sherman, MD, MSc, DTM&H, director at BioTherapuetics, Education & Research (BTER) Foundation, co-founder.

Sherman also works as the laboratory director at Monarch Labs and a practicing physician in Orange County, Calif.

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Posted in Debridement, Infection, Wild on Wounds Conference, Wound and skin management | Comments Off on Maggot debridement therapy and leech therapy are viable options

How to differentiate stasis dermatitis from cellulitis

May 6th, 2020
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stasis dermatitis

In my experience, I have encountered the confusion between venous dermatitis and cellulitis that plagues the wound care industry. 

The unlikely diagnosis of “bilateral cellulitis” is not uncommon in wound care, followed by two weeks of unnecessary antibiotic therapy.

Despite some similarities, there are many differentiating characteristics that diagnosing clinicians either overlook or misunderstand. 

In an effort to help clinicians more accurately differentiate the two conditions, we will discuss the differences in this blog post. It will help you prescribe appropriate treatments and improve patient outcomes.

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Posted in Infection, Wound and skin management, Wound assessment, Wound care education | Comments Off on How to differentiate stasis dermatitis from cellulitis

Why continued competence in wound care nursing matters

April 29th, 2020
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continued competence

Continued competence in nursing is not a new idea. It has been the focus of professional nursing practice at all levels.

You can find an abundance of information, research and articles on continued competence, whether the topic is:

  • How continued competence is measured
  • How it can be improved
  • How best to increase and maintain competence

One definition of competence is the quality or state of having sufficient knowledge, judgment, skill or strength (as for a particular duty or in a particular respect).

Another definition describes competence as the quality of being competent — adequacy; the possession of required skill, judgment, qualification or capacity.

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Posted in Wound care litigation | Comments Off on Why continued competence in wound care nursing matters

How to teach patients to manage wound care at home during COVID-19

April 20th, 2020
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wound care at home

Some wound care centers are closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More patients are opting to perform their own wound care at home because they are concerned about venturing out and risking exposure to the virus.

We spoke with three wound care professionals to learn more about care provided in the home and teaching patients and families to care for wounds until life returns to normal. 

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Posted in Infection, Wound and skin management, Wound assessment, Wound care education | Comments Off on How to teach patients to manage wound care at home during COVID-19

Wipe Out Wounds Tour explores updated NPIAP Guideline

April 15th, 2020
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NPIAP Guideline

Are you aware of the new pressure injury guidelines?

The National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP) and its partner organizations released the 2019 Clinical Practice Guideline for the prevention and treatment of pressure injuries.

The new NPIAP Guideline consists of a 409-page document. As a wound care clinician, you’ll be expected to integrate these current standards of care and pressure injury guidelines into your practice.

Donna Sardina, MHA, RN, WCC, CWCMS, DWC, OMS, co-founder of the Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI) and the Wild on Wounds (WOW) Conference, shared some highlights of the new guideline that you should know.

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Posted in Pressure injury, Wound and skin management, Wound assessment | Comments Off on Wipe Out Wounds Tour explores updated NPIAP Guideline

COVID-19 pandemic: The potential impact on wound care

April 7th, 2020
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COVID-19

COVID-19 is making quite a stir in our society at large.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and many countries are being affected, some more severely than others. There is no doubt this viral outbreak is serious.

We have enough data to know the elderly and individuals with one or more significant health issues (diabetes, immunosuppression and/or upper respiratory comorbidities) are at the highest risk for serious illness and death.

What do you as wound care clinicians need to think about when managing your patients in hospitals, nursing homes and home care?

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Posted in Nutrition, Wound and skin management, Wound assessment | Comments Off on COVID-19 pandemic: The potential impact on wound care

An overview of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and wound care

April 1st, 2020
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Most wound care clinicians see wounds related to peripheral artery disease (PAD) on a frequent if not daily basis.

So let’s learn about PAD’s prevalence, understand the different ways it presents and best practices for managing it.

We spoke with Donald Wollheim, MD, FAPWCA, WCC, DWC, a board-certified surgeon of the American Board of Surgery, to get his insight on PAD.

With 25 years of experience in general/vascular surgery and 13 years as a wound care specialist, educator and case reviewer, Wollheim also is a clinical instructor for our Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI).

“From a wound care clinician’s point of view, it is critical to have good to excellent, oxygenated, arterial blood providing the tissues of the lower extremity to heal any wound of the leg,” Wollheim said.

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Posted in Ankle Brachial Index, Wound and skin management, Wound assessment | Comments Off on An overview of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and wound care

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy case: Liability can result from treatment inaction

March 25th, 2020
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hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Many of you have worked with wound care patients needing antibiotics and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

In the 2016 Texas case of Gonzalez v. Padilla, the issue of whether the antibiotics or hyperbaric oxygen therapy were properly prescribed was a core issue in the case.

The patient was struck while riding his motorcycle and was taken to a university-based medical center with a broken lower right leg and a de-gloved heel.

An open external fixation procedure of his compound, comminuted fracture was successfully performed and a “halo type” fixation device was placed around the leg to hold the bones in place as the fracture healed.

The patient was also placed on IV antibiotics, including Gentamicin and Cefazonlin for a period of five days. In addition, he received daily wound care treatments.

The medical center’s records indicated his right leg showed “obvious evidence of continued blood flow … and no obvious necrosis beneath the heel tissue itself.”

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Posted in Infection, Wound and skin management, Wound care litigation | Comments Off on Hyperbaric oxygen therapy case: Liability can result from treatment inaction

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