Archive for the ‘Diabetic Wound Management’ Category

Diabetic Toenails: Top Tips for Proper Trimming

Friday, November 11th, 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 and nail maintenance can help prevent ulceration.

You can help diabetic patients with nail maintenance by taking extra care to preserve the integrity of the toenails. This includes keeping the cuticles and surrounding skin intact, and following best practices when trimming the nails. That’s why we’ve put together our top tips for proper trimming.

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Diabetic Foot Screening Guide

Friday, July 29th, 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 leg amputations.
  • The five-year mortality of patients with newly diagnosed diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) is nearly 50%, and carries a worse prognosis than breast cancer, prostate cancer, or Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In addition, DFUs are at increased risk for infections and other complications, and continue to be a major cause of hospitalizations and additional healthcare expenditures.  So while patients suffer greatly from DFUs, these chronic wounds are also a huge financial burden on healthcare systems. This is because these same patients spend more days in the hospital, and experience more visits to the emergency room and outpatient physician offices than other patients with diabetes.

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Diabetic Footwear: If The Shoe Fits, Wear It

Friday, April 29th, 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, this staggering statistic is accurate. But the good news is that there’s something we can do about it. If we get diabetic patients to wear the proper shoes, we can cut diabetic foot amputations in half.

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Diabetic Wound Care: Monofilament Testing

Friday, March 11th, 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 and in constant assessment mode, looking for ways to prevent further complications or possible injury. So when a patient also happens to be diabetic, our assessment mode goes into overdrive.

One of the most common complications of diabetes is neuropathy, or nerve damage of the extremities. With sensory neuropathy, the patient loses protective sensation and the ability to feel pain and temperature changes. Without protective sensation, the diabetic patient is at an increased risk for foot injury or ulceration, and may not realize anything is amiss until there are serious complications.

Neuropathy Screening

This is why testing your diabetic patients for neuropathy is so important. In fact, the American Diabetes Association recommends that we screen diabetic patients for neuropathy annually, at minimum. Once we note any diminished sensation, we should check quarterly.

One way to assess protective sensation in the diabetic foot is to perform a Semmes Weinstein 10g Monofilament Test across designated sites on the foot.  The test uses a 5.07 monofilament that exerts 10 grams of force when bowed into a C-shape against the skin for one second.

 

Monofilament Diagrams

 

How to Perform the Semmes Weinstein 10g Monofilament Test

The test procedure is as follows:

  1. Use the 10gm monofilament to test sensation.
  2. Have patient close his or her eyes.
  3. Apply the filament perpendicular to the skin’s surface.
  4. Be aware that the approach, skin contact and departure of the monofilament should be approximately 1.5 seconds in duration.
  5. Apply sufficient force to allow the filament to bend. (Figure 1).
  6. Do not apply to an ulcer site or on a callous, scar, or necrotic tissue.
  7. Do not allow the filament to slide across the skin or make repetitive contact at the test site. Randomly change the order and timing of successive tests.
  8. Ask the patient to respond, “Yes,” when he or she feels the filament.
  9. Document response when felt, and test for sensation (Figure 2).
  10. Be aware that neuropathy usually starts in the first and third toes, and progresses to the first and third metatarsal heads. It is likely that these areas will be the first to have negative results with the 10gm monofilament. Repeated testing can demonstrate vividly to the patient the progression of the disease.

Record the results on the screening form, noting a “+” for sensation felt, and a “-” for no sensation felt. The patient is said to have an insensate foot if they fail on retesting at just one or more sites on either foot. Injury is much more likely to occur in these insensate areas and we must take protective measures. Provide patient education verbally and in writing, such as these materials from the American Diabetes Association, and be sure to do a good shoe fit assessment as part of your care plan.

Do you administer the Monofilament test?

Are you familiar with the Semmes Weinstein 10g Monofilament Test, and do you administer it on a regular basis to your diabetic patients? Has monofilament testing produced significant results in terms of prevention and assessment? We are interested to know about your experiences in diabetic foot testing, so please leave your comments below.

 

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Click to download this easy-to-use resource for performing foot examinations.

Dry Skin Alert: Foot Xerosis in Diabetic Patients

Thursday, January 14th, 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 is xerosis, which is an abnormal dryness of the skin. This is just one reason why clinicians should routinely inspect the feet of diabetic patients.

According to research, 82.1% of patients with diabetes had skin with dryness, cracks or fissures, which serves as a predictor of foot lesions. In addition, an unpublished survey of 105 consecutive patients with diabetes revealed that 75% had clinical manifestations of dry skin. This serves as further evidence that xerosis in diabetic patients is a threat to foot ulcers, and the more we know about the condition, the better we can treat and heal our patients.

The Signs

The most common characteristics of xerosis include excessively dry, rough, uneven and cracked skin. Other signs include:

  • Possible raised or uplifted skin edges (scaling), desquamation (flaking), chapping, and pruritus.
  • Excessive dryness and scaling on the heels and feet.
  • Possible fissures (linear cracks in the skin) with hyperkeratotic tissue.

Progression and Patterns

The progression of xerosis follows a defined pattern that begins when the skin becomes dry and rough, with pronounced skin lines. As the condition progresses, you’ll see the development of superficial scaling, with fissuring and erythema. In severe cases, a crisscrossing pattern with superficial scaling is present. The skin becomes less elastic and loses both its flexibility and its ability to withstand trauma, which may result in skin breakdown and subsequent infection.

Causes

A number of conditions contribute to the onset of xerosis in diabetic patients, including the loss of natural moisturizing factors and moisture from the stratum cor­neum and intercellular matrix of the skin. Additionally:

  • Sebaceous and sweat glands normally maintain skin lubrication and control the oil and moisture in the foot, but they become atrophied when autonomic neuropathy occurs.
  • Corneocytes (cells that make up the top layer of epidermis) are aligned parallel to each other in normal skin; xerosis causes structural changes to these cells and disrupts the surface, resulting in a rough epidermal surface.
  • The dryness is due to the redistribution of blood flow in the soles of the feet by persistent and inappropriate dilatation of arteriovenous shunts. This activity diverts blood away from the skin surface. When this occurs in combination with alterations in the elasticity of the skin (due to nonenzymatic glycosylation of structural proteins and glycoproteins), the skin splits, creating portals for bacteria to enter.

Treatment

Once you see initial signs of xerosis in your patients, what should you do? Start by applying an agent to the feet every day in order to maintain skin moisture, such as an emollient lotion or cream. Use moisturizers that contain urea or lactic acid.

  1. Urea works by enhancing the water-binding capacity of the stratum corneum. Long-term treatment with urea has been demonstrated to decrease transepidermal water loss. Urea also is a potent skin humidifier and descaling agent, particularly in 10% concentration.
  2. Lactic acid (in the form of an alpha hydroxy acid) can accelerate softening of the skin, dissolving or peeling the outer layer of the skin to help maintain its capability to hold moisture. Lactic acid in concentrations of 2.5% to 12% is the most common alpha hydroxy acid used for moderate to severe xerosis.
  3. Examples of products with urea or lactic acid include Atrac-Tain Cream, Eucerin 10% Urea Lotion, Lac-Hydrin 12%, and AmLactin Foot Cream Therapy.

Additionally, it’s important to avoid:

  • Products that contain alcohol – because they evaporate, and their drying action compounds the original problem.
  • Petroleum-based products, because they seal the skin surface and prevent what little lubrication is made from evaporating. These products don’t penetrate the surface of the skin and don’t replace skin moisture.

Patient education

As always, part of our job is to continuously educate patients and their family members or caretakers. When it comes to your patients suffering from xerosis, make sure they know to:

  • minimize bathing to no more than once a day (or even every other day)
  • use cool or lukewarm water
  • pat – don’t rub – to dry the skin
  • avoid harsh soaps
  • avoid lotions with dyes or perfumes
  • ensure skin moisturizers are applied appropriately and at the right frequency

What do you think?

Knowing the signs of xerosis and how to treat it is crucial for diabetic patients. Have you had experience with this condition, and are there any specific techniques, treatments or products you find most effective? And what are the biggest challenges you face when it comes to this particular type of wound management? We would love to hear about and learn from your experiences! Please share your stories below.

 

Wound Care Education Institute® provides online and onsite courses in the fields of Skin, Wound, Diabetic and Ostomy Management. Health care professionals who meet the eligibility requirements may sit for the prestigious WCC®, DWC® and OMS national board certification examinations through the National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy® (NAWCO®). For more information see wcei.net.

Urgent! Risks and Diagnosis of Diabetic Foot Infections

Friday, January 8th, 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, it is estimated that around 56% of diabetic foot ulcers become infected, and an infected foot wound precedes about two-thirds of amputations.  Being able to treat diabetic foot infections promptly – before they progress too far – helps prevent amputations, which is why your role is so crucial to a patient’s well-being.

What are the risk factors of diabetic foot infection?

If you are treating a diabetic patient with a foot infection, there are a number of risk factors to consider. These include:

  • 30-day-old wounds
  • Wounds that go down to the bone
  • Recurrent foot infections
  • Peripheral vascular disease
  • An etiology from trauma

In particular, be on high alert with your diabetic patients for what they call an occult (hidden) infection. A diabetic foot ulcer could clearly have an infection, but fail to show any of the classic signs and symptoms that you traditionally look for, like erythema, heat, pain and purulence.

Because a diabetic patient’s immune system is compromised, you might be on the lookout for typical signs but not see any of them at all. This does not mean that an infection isn’t there; only half of diabetic foot ulcer patients will show classic signs, which means we also need to work our patients up for infection.

The best approach? Be persistent and keep looking for more signs, like:

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  • Serous exudate (thin, clear, watery)
  • Delay in healing
  • Friable (fragile) granulation tissue
  • Discolored granulation
  • Odor
  • Pocketing in the wound bed

How do we diagnose diabetic foot infection?

Diagnosing infection in any wound, particularly with diabetic patients, is a clinical one (versus a lab diagnosis). So if you ever hear a colleague say, “We’re going to wait for the lab results to see if our patient has a wound infection,” it’s time to stand up and emphatically say, “No!” Why? Because lab results, specifically the swab cultures that are most commonly used, are often inconclusive in the presence of biofilm. Instead of waiting for the results, you need to act immediately.

That’s not to say that lab results aren’t useful. They can sometimes help us confirm infections and target which antibiotic we want to use. But again, most infections are polymicrobial (containing more than one kind of bacteria), and swab cultures don’t pick up everything. We need to use our clinical judgment and supplement with lab and cultures.

The final word

As wound care professionals, prevention is obviously our first line of defense against any wound complications from infections. But when caring for diabetic patients, clearly understanding the risk factors for foot infections, and then being able to diagnose conditions as soon as possible, are crucial for effective treatment.

What do you think?

Have you had experience in treating diabetic patients with foot infections? Have you been able to identify the infection in a timely manner? Is there a particular case that was exceptionally challenging or difficult? Please tell us about it, and leave your comments below.

What is Charcot Foot?

Thursday, January 1st, 2015

What is Charcot Arthropathy? Charcot foot, as it is commonly referred to, is a chronic progressive disease of the bone and joints found in the feet and ankles of Charcot Footour diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy.

What leads to this Charcot foot? Having long standing diabetes for greater than 10 years is one contributing factor. Having autonomic neuropathy leads to abnormal bone formation and having sensory neuropathy causes the insensate foot, or foot without sensation and thus susceptible to trauma, this is another contributing factor. These bones in the affected foot collapse and fracture becoming malformed without any major trauma. One common malformation you see related to Charcot foot is the “rocker bottom” where there is a “bulge” on the bottom of the foot where the bones have collapsed.

Your patient with Charcot foot will present with a painless, warm, reddened and swollen foot. You may see dependent rubor, bounding pedal pulses, and feel or hear crackling of the bones when moving the foot. If a patient were to continue to bear weight on the Charcot foot there is a high chance for ulceration that could potentially lead to infection and/or amputation.offloading_devices

Continued, on-going weight-bearing can result in a permanently deformed foot that is more prone to ulceration and breakdown. Prompt treatment is necessary using total contact casting, where no weight bearing will occur on the affected foot for 8-12 weeks. Our job as wound care clinicians is good foot assessment with prompt identification and treatment of this acute Charcot foot to prevent foot deformity and further complications in the diabetic patient.

A Stinky Situation: When Wound Odor is a Problem

Monday, November 10th, 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 we were exposed. This stands true for those wounds with odor. We almost become immune, yes we are aware the odor is there; but to our noses it is not an issue. The real issue is for our patients and their friends and family. Odor is subjective. Depending on the patient and family members ability, they may be very much aware of the odor. It can be very bothersome to the patient and their loved ones. The patient maybe embarrassed by it, and may try to self-isolate. They may not want to have people around them because of the way their wound smells. This is something as wound care clinicians we need to fix.

The first thing we need to look at is, what is causing the odor? Is it from necrotic tissue that supports the growth of anaerobic bacteria? Is it from a high level of wound exudate? Is there an actual wound infection? Do we have the wrong wound dressing on the patient?

Once we figure out the cause then we need to remove it, whether its debridement of necrotic tissue, managing the high level of exudate with dressings or using Negative Pressure Wound Therapy; we need to find what works. With an actual wound infection, treating with antimicrobial dressings or antiseptic’s/antibiotic’s are a must to remove the organism causing the infection and the odor. Sometimes just changing the dressing more frequently will help. Using dressings like those with activated charcoal, or those dressings with medical grade honey in them may help the wound odor. Another option is topical Metronidazole Gel to the wound bed, this may help eliminate wound odor as well.

Just because the odor in the wound bed isn’t offensive to us as wound care clinicians, doesn’t mean it isn’t offensive to others. As a rule, if your patient has odor in the wound bed, consider it a problem that you need to fix.

Wound Care Education Institute® provides online and onsite courses in the fields of Skin, Wound, Diabetic and OstomyManagement. Health care professionals who meet the eligibility requirements may sit for the prestigious WCC®, DWC® and OMS national board certification examinations through the National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy® (NAWCO®). For more information see wcei.net.

Why ABI?

Monday, October 20th, 2014

What exactly is an ABI?  ABI stands for Ankle Brachial Index. This is a non-invasive bedside tool that compares the systolic blood pressure of the ankle to that of Doppler_BloodPressureCuffthe arm. It is done to rule out Peripheral Arterial Disease in the lower extremities. The ABI is considered the “bedside” gold standard diagnostic test and can be done by any trained clinician in a clinic, hospital, nursing home and/or even the home care setting. All you need is a blood pressure cuff and a hand held Doppler.

Why do we do the Ankle Brachial Index or ABI?  Well, there are several reasons why we include the ABI as part of our assessment for the patient with lower extremity wounds. First of all, in order to heal a wound we have to be sure that our patient has adequate blood flow. The ABI will tell us if the patient has impaired arterial blood flow, and how significant that impairment is.  We also need to know the amount of compression that we can safely apply to the venous patient, in general the lower the patients ABI reading, the lower the amount of compression that can be safely applied.

When do I need to do the ABI? Standards of care and Guidelines dictate when we should be doing the Ankle Brachial Index. Our current standard of practice states to do the ABI: Anytime a patient has a lower extremity ulcer, when foot pulses are not clearly palpable, prior to applying compression wraps / garments or when the lower extremity ulcer is no longer healing.

What does the ABI “number” mean? First we need to be aware that not everyone’s ABI is reliable, in fact patients with diabetes or end-stage renal disease may have incompressible vessels rendering a falsely high ABI score. For these patients we use another diagnostic test called the Toe Brachial Ankle Brachial IndexPressure Index (TBPI) instead of the ABI.  For those with ABI readings, in general as the patients ABI score decreases, this signifies that the patient has arterial disease of the lower extremity, and poor blood flow. Any patient with an abnormal reading needs a referral to a vascular specialist. Bedside interpretations of the ABI that we use as wound clinicians are: 1.0 considered a normal reading, an ABI of 0.9 indicate more venous, 0.6-0.8 indicate a mixed etiology (venous and arterial) and less than or equal to 0.5 is indicative of arterial disease of the lower extremity.

We as wound care clinicians are held to certain standards of care and must follow those guidelines established by the experts.  Performing the ABI on patients before applying compression and on patients with lower extremity ulcers is one of them.  As wound clinicians we use the ABI and our clinical assessment to help guide us into determining what type of ulcer we are dealing with so we can make appropriate referrals and develop the best treatment plan for our patients. It’s a step we can’t afford to leave out; our patient’s limb may depend on it.

Trimming Those Tricky Diabetic Toenails

Thursday, March 7th, 2013

diabetic toenails

You are getting ready to trim your diabetic patients toenails. What exactly does that all involve? Well, first you need the proper tools for diabetic toenails. A set of toenail nippers, nail file, and orange stick are typically used. Always follow your facility or healthcare’s settings policy for infection control. Single use disposable equipment is favorable.

You have gathered your equipment to trim the patients diabetic toenails, now what? Nails are easiest to trim after a bath or soak for 10 minutes to soften nails. The soaking of diabetics feet should only be done by a healthcare professional. You can clean under the patients toenail with an orange stick (wearing gloves), wiping on a clean washcloth in between each toe during soaking. .

After soaking and washing of the feet are completed, dry the patients feet completely. Wash your hands and put on gloves to trim the toenails. Use your dominant hand to hold the nipper. Start with the small toe and work your way medial toward the great toe. Squeeze the nipper to make small nips to cut along the curve of the toenail. Be careful not to cut the skin. Use your index finger to block any flying nail fragments. Nippers are used like a pair of scissors – make small cuts, never cut the nail in one clip all the way across the nail. Never use two hands on the nipper. The nail is trimmed in small clips in a systematic manner. The nail should be cut level with the tips of the toes, never cut so short or to break the seal between the nail and the nail bed. The shape of the nail should be cut straight across and an emery board should be used to slightly round the edges. When filing diabetic toenails always use long strokes in one direction, avoid using a back and forth sawing motion.

When all toes have been trimmed and filed, remove your gloves and wash your hands. Apply clean gloves and apply lotion to the top of the foot and to the soles of the feet, rubbing lotion in well, and wipe excess lotion off with a towel. Put the patient’s socks and shoes back on as needed. Wash your hands and smile, you are done!

For your patients who are trimming their own diabetic toenails at home teach them the following simple instructions: Be sure you have good lighting. Trim toenails after bathing, dry feet well, especially in between the toes. Start with the little toe and work your way into the great toe. Use small cuts, never cut the toenail across all at once. Cut straight across and use a nail file to smooth edges. Apply lotion to the bottom and tops of the feet, never in between the toes. For patients with thickened toenails or yellowed toenails, recommend a foot care specialist like a podiatrist cut their toenails.