Wound Care Education Institute Blog

COVID-19 Complicates Skin and Wound Care

The pandemic has brought skin and wound care challenges on many levels. One challenge is that COVID-19 can compromise the skin, leading to wounds that are harder to heal, according to Dianna Dashner, DNP, WCC, CLNC, LLE, senior nurse practitioner at ProMedica Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation.

SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause virus-mediated endothelial dysfunction, which decreases tissue tolerance, authors wrote in a paper published in the summer 2022 issue of AACN Advanced Critical Care.

Dashner said the body’s inflammatory markers remain high long after an infected person’s symptoms go away.

“Inflammation markers actually take one year from the time you’ve been infected to go back to normal. So for patients who have an autoimmune disease or an inflammatory process in their bodies from a condition they already have, their markers are going to be sky high,” said Dashner, who is presenting “COVID’s Impact on the Skin: A Look at What We Know” at the September Wild on Wounds conference in Hollywood, Florida. The conference explores skin and wound care challenges and provides hands-on learning opportunities.

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Wound Debridement Basics: The 5 Major Methods Explained

Wound Care and Debridement: Know the BEAMS

What is Debridement?

Wound debridement is the removal of necrotic, dead tissue from the wound bed. It also plays a vital role in the tissue management concept of wound bed preparation. Wound bed preparation is the comprehensive approach we use to get our chronic wounds to heal. There are two main categories of debridement: selective and non- selective. Selective methods are when only necrotic, non-viable tissue is removed from the wound bed. Non-selective methods remove both necrotic tissue and viable living tissue.

The 5 Major Debridement Methods

These five major debridement methods for wound clinicians are easy to remember (BEAMS), and key to the wound healing process. Debridement methods can be categorized under two main types.

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Spotting Signs of Wound Infection is the First Step in Proper Treatment

Understanding the most current literature describing stages and signs of wound infection helps clinicians to accurately assess wounds.

“If we allow wounds to become infected then it certainly impedes the healing process,” said Patricia A. Slachta, PhD, RN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CWOCN, co-director of the Wound Care Nurse Education Program at Relias.

With an accurate assessment, wound care clinicians can prevent infection or identify signs of wound infection early and allow the body to heal the wound as quickly as possible, without using antibiotics, according to Slachta, who shared her expertise on how to determine if a wound is infected and needs antibiotic treatment.

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Making an Impact: Successful Wound Care Poster Presentations

If you’re interested in submitting a poster presentation for the Wild on Wounds (WOW) conference, you’ll want to highlight your research findings succinctly through a combination of text and visuals.

“Poster presentations are a great way for clinicians to showcase their hard work on a project,” suggested Diana Ramirez-Ripp, HMCC, CWCMS, manager of live events for WCEI. “The content of the poster should interest your audience and provide a clear take-home message that attendees can grasp in a few moments.”

At the upcoming WOW conference, you’ll have the opportunity to share your research and accomplishments with other wound care professionals through poster abstracts. Posters are a standard at many conferences, and at WOW they include inspiring and thought-provoking presentations in various areas of wound care. These presentations give attendees the opportunity to gain new evidence-based knowledge in practice.

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Wild on Wounds (WOW) Is Back and Better Than Ever

Over the last two years, wound care clinicians have been among the many brave, dedicated souls out there providing the best care possible for their patients — in the face of seemingly endless adversity. It’s impossible to overstate the magnitude of what you’ve all been through.

These are among the many reasons the Wound Care Education Institute staff is so excited about this year’s Wild on Wounds (WOW) national conference. The mere notion of meeting face to face after so long apart is truly a reason to celebrate.

For those unaware, Wild on Wounds is an annual conference with workshops and curriculum designed to be relevant for wound care clinicians practicing at every level of skin and wound management. It’s an opportunity to learn, network, discover what’s new in wound care, and of course, have a great time.

In partnership with the National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy (NAWCO), this year’s event is being held September 7-10 in sunny Hollywood, Florida. Buying your ticket by April 30 saves you $100, so register early. There are seven tiers of entry to choose from, so take a look at the site to see everything we’re offering this year.

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Make Wound Care Nursing Your Next Career Milestone

As many wound care nurses would tell you, a career in wound care nursing can be extremely rewarding if you have a passion for the work and can create a trusting relationship with patients.

Wound care nurses’ responsibilities go much deeper than just dressing wounds — although dressing a wound properly using the right materials and regimen is a crucial part of the wound treatment process. These specialists also know how to assess, debride, and clean wounds, and are an integral part of a patient’s care team.

Whether patients have chronic or acute wounds, wound care nurses can decide on treatment plans that promote healing and prevent infection. And patients profit from having these compassionate, highly skilled professionals by their sides.

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All About the Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Injury Risk

As we shifted from “turning Q 2 hours” for positioning our patients to “individualized positioning based on tissue tolerance,” many clinicians were unsure how best to establish a plan of care.

How do we determine the positioning frequency? What is the pressure injury risk for our patients? How can we quantify risk to drive plan of care for positioning?

The Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Ulcer/Sore Risk is a great tool to assist with those questions.

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Treating Pediatric Burns Takes Skills and Sensitivity

Knowledgeable wound care clinicians are needed not only for adults but for the pediatric population too. Burns are common injuries incurred by children. We spoke with two experts to learn more about this important area of wound care for pediatric burns.

Stats on Pediatric Burns

“Burns are a leading cause of death and disability for children worldwide,” said Tina Palmieri MD, FACS, FCCM, Assistant Chief of Burns at Shriners Hospital for Children Northern California and Burn Division Chief at the University of California, Davis.

In the U.S., the stats are staggering. “Nearly each week in 2018 in the U.S. alone, approximately six children aged 0-19 died, 139 were hospitalized, and 1,762 were taken to the emergency room due to fire and burn injuries,” said Palmieri.

According to the American Burn Association Fact Sheet, 24% of all burn injuries occur in children under the age of 15, said Jenna Leach MSN, RN, WCC, plastic surgery specialty nurse at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware.

Palmieri pointed out risk factors for pediatric fire and burn deaths are: Read the rest of this entry »

How Do You Treat a Malignant Wound? Let’s Look at the Options

Wounds can present in patients as a result of various etiologies. One cause of wounds not typically on most clinicians’ radars are wounds that result from primary tumors.

We spoke with Joni Brinker, MSN/MHA, RN, WCC, an Ohio-based consultant and clinical nurse educator with Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and speaker for WCEI’s Wild on Wounds (WOW) national conference, to gain insight on malignant wounds that can develop from primary tumors.

What Is a Malignant Wound?

“A malignant wound is a manifestation of malignant (cancerous) cells that have infiltrated through the skin,” said Brinker.

Other structures such as blood and lymphatic vessels also can be invaded by malignant cells and produce wounds, she said.

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The Best Wound Care Certification to Have — Comparing Options

If you’re currently working in wound care or contemplating moving into it as your new specialty, you may want to consider becoming certified.

Why? The skills of certified wound care clinicians are in great demand.

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