Diabetic Wound Management posts
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By Carole Jakucs, MSN, RN, PHN, CDCES

April 16, 2019

Lack of standardized, pervasive wound care training is why clinicians who work with wound patients may want to earn wound care certification.

By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS

January 19, 2018

To treat patients with lower extremity ulcers, you need to find out if there’s impaired arterial blood flow. For some patients, however, the standard Ankle Brachial Index (ABI) yields misleading results. Fortunately, there’s an easy alternative: the Toe Brachial Pressure Index (TBPI).  Here’s when and how to perform this simple test. When confronting a lower […]

By Nancy Collins, PhD, RDN, LD, NWCC, FAND

January 12, 2018

Patients with diabetes are more likely to suffer many serious health issues besides foot wounds and amputations. This makes it imperative that they resolve to get their blood glucose levels under control. All of the lawsuits I review have a common theme. The plaintiff suffers from a chronic wound and some degree of malnutrition and/or […]

By Angie Commorato

November 11, 2016

Check out these best practices for trimming your diabetic patient’s toenails to help prevent foot ulceration. Did you know that a whopping 10-25% percent of all patients with diabetes ultimately develop a foot ulcer – a diagnosis that brings a five-year mortality rate of nearly 50%? Consistent foot care, such as regular screenings, footwear assessment […]

By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS

July 29, 2016

Five clinical tests for diagnosing loss of protective sensation in the diabetic foot, plus tips on inflammation assessment. How serious are diabetic foot ulcers? The statistics are sobering: It is estimated that between 10 and 25% of patients with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer in their lifetime. Diabetic foot ulcers precede 84% of all lower […]

By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS

April 29, 2016

When it comes to diabetic wound care, footwear matters – and proper diabetic patient shoe assessment is key. Wound clinicians know how devastating foot amputations are for diabetic patients. But what you might not know is that a whopping 50% of diabetic foot amputations are a direct result of patients wearing improper footwear. Surprised? Unfortunately, […]

By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS

March 11, 2016

Detecting neuropathy in the diabetic foot is crucial for patient care, which is why the 10-step monofilament test is a must when it comes to injury and ulceration prevention. Healing patients and helping them get on the road to recovery are always at the top of any wound clinician’s list. We are always on alert […]

By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS

January 14, 2016

Diabetic wound management requires awareness, including knowing the signs and progression of xerosis – an abnormal dryness of skin. Patients with diabetes are prone to dry skin, particularly when blood glucose levels are running high. And as a clinician, one of the most common types of skin conditions you will see in your diabetic patients […]

By Keisha Smith, MA, CWCMS

January 8, 2016

For effective diabetic wound management, clinicians must know the risk factors for foot infections, and be able to diagnose them properly – and as soon as possible. Wound care clinicians deal with foot infections all the time, but when the patient is also diabetic, an infection can progress rapidly to a critical state. In fact, […]

By Diana Ramirez-Ripp

November 10, 2014

You may have become desensitized to it, but if your patient has odor in the wound bed, consider it a problem that you need to fix. As healthcare clinicians, in a way, we are lucky.  We become desensitized to things we encounter over and over again, they just don’t bother us like the first time […]