January 13, 2017
How can you tell if a wound is really infected? Learn how to spot the signs of infection and be a skilled wound investigator. Are you ready, wound detectives, to tackle a new case? This time, we’re learning how to spot the signs of infection. Remember, the wound will tell us what we need to […]
December 7, 2016
Determining a patient’s ABI is a vital part of wound care, but unfortunately this step is often avoided … or even omitted. Here’s why this happens, and how you can change it. Have you ever faced a seemingly daunting task, and so you do everything in your power to avoid it? Like renewing a driver’s […]
October 21, 2016
Even the best wound care detectives are challenged by this sneaky culprit that delays healing. Here’s how to identify biofilm bacteria and solve the case. Ready for some serious detective work? In this wound-care case, we will try to find and invade the elusive biofilm bacterial hide-out. So the questions are: where are those microbes […]
October 7, 2016
Inaccurate and incomplete intake and output (I&O) records pose a problem in litigation, as well as a risk to the patient who requires monitoring of fluid balance for medical reasons. “Would you agree that the nurses did not know how to do basic arithmetic?” Of course nurses know how to add and subtract, yet I […]
April 15, 2016
More real-world wound care questions and answers relating to pressure injury staging, including slough, debridement and skin breakdown. Can’t get enough of pressure injury staging? Neither can we. That’s why we’re excited to present even more questions and answers about this topic, based on what wound clinicians experience out in the field (versus what we […]
March 29, 2016
This wound care Q&A answers five of the most common questions about pressure injury staging dilemmas (that you probably didn’t learn from textbooks). In the world of wound care, just as in real life, the phrase, “Expect the unexpected” couldn’t be more appropriate. Clinicians can do everything exactly by the book, only to find that […]
February 18, 2016
If you’ve ever noticed bruise-like spots on your skin that aren’t bruises, they may be skin lesions. So what might look like a bruise at first glance could really be a suspected deep tissue injury, purpura . . . or something else. Do you know the difference? We break down what a bruise is, petechiae […]
October 21, 2015
Imagine, if you will, the following scene: a wound care clinician is asked to weigh in on a lower extremity ulcer consultation, and upon arrival is told that it’s a pressure ulcer. So she seeks more information about blood flow: Clinician #1: Tell me about the blood flow to the lower extremity. Clinician #2: It […]
September 24, 2015
Every clinician knows that a vital part of wound care is weekly wound assessment. This, of course, tracks healing progress and provides important information that can help with treatment plans and health goals. But there is more than one measuring technique used to assess wounds, which is why it’s important to not only understand them, […]
December 15, 2014
Proper assessment is essential for differentiating between venous and arterial ulcers. Your patient has a lower extremity wound. You aren’t sure what exactly you are dealing with. You know you need to measure the ankle-brachial index (ABI), but as you wait for results, some of your wound assessment findings offer clues. Characteristics of Venous Ulcers […]