(2007) notes that "for a wound to heal, it must have a mircoenvironment free from the nonviable tissue that serves as a bacterial culture medium to increase organism proliferation." (Ayello et al
94 the image quality was judged to be good in 36 cases (59%) and very good in 12 (20%)." (Braun et al
Two patients received virtual reality (VR) to distract them from high levels of pain during wound care." (Hoffman et al
A recent article by Holleran (2009) highlights the importance of this issue, citing a case in which a "woman died after employees at an Illinois nursing home allowed her pressure sores to deteriorate, causing sepsis to flow throughout her blood." (Holleran, 1) The story was invoked by a lawsuit claiming multiple acts of negligence against the facility in question, all of these prompted by a total absence of wound care standards, which allowed the woman's condition to go undetected and even to intensify and spread
This review is one of a series of reviews, and focuses on the prevention and treatment of diabetic foot ulcers and the role of antimicrobial agents in chronic wounds in general." (O'Meara, 237) Using a set of electronic databases, including the Cochrane Library, the O'Meara source yields the best practices in preventative wound treatment based on trials conducted with diabetic foot-wound patients
It is the purpose of this review to assess the likelihood of widespread resistance to silver and the potential for silver to induce cross-resistance to antibiotics, in light of its increasing usage within the healthcare setting." (Percival et al
Such is to indicate that "nursing must have a comprehensive paradigm that honors the relational nature of the nurse-patient relationship, the critical influence of environment and the importance of biological factors." (Raingruber, 1) Given the opportunity to decide the best course of action for contending with any number of scenarios, a wound care nurse will find that possessing an awareness of the standards, practices and even the philosophies informing a variety of theoretical frameworks will enable him to approach a treatment dilemma with a compass that is dually empirical and humanistic in its nature
The integration of the work of an interdisciplinary care team that includes doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals with the patient, family, significant others, and caregivers offers an optimal formula for achieving wound resolution." (Sibbald et al
Data gathered on the prevalence of pressure ulcers have suggested a rate ranging from 4.7% (Allman, Larade & Noel, 1986) to 9
Currently, there are more than 2,000 wound care products and support surfaces available in the U.S. (Baharestani, 1999)
As reported by Dwyer and Keeler (1997), currently, rates for pressure ulcers in skilled care and nursing home facilities approach 23%. It has also been documented that critical care patients represent a large proportion of hospitalized patients with pressure ulcers: 33% incidence and 41% prevalence (Beitz, Fey, & O'Brien, 1998)
Lawsuits claiming personal injury negligence related to the development of pressure ulcers have significantly increased since the introduction of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987. Between 1977 and 1997, the median settlement related to pressure ulcers in federal and state appellate cases was $250,000 (Bennett, O'Sullivan, Devito, & Remsburg, 2000)
Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 1994). Similar estimates have also suggested that the average cost to heal a single pressure ulcer ranges from $1,951 for a leg ulcer to $29,373 for a diabetic ulcer (Bolton, Van Rijswijk, & Shaffer, 1996)
Foot ulcers are the number one reason for hospitalization of diabetic patients and are the major cause of non-traumatic amputations. Diabetic amputations average 67,000 procedures per year at a cost of $98 billion in health care dollars (Burdette-Taylor, 1999; USDHHS Diabetes Surveillance, 1997)
Section 5 will offer conclusions based on the thesis. Theoretical Framework Basic principles of wound care have been established that serve as a model for managing wound and delivering wound care services and treatment (Dickerson, Purdue & Hunt, 1999)
Statement of Purpose Evidence suggests that a number of factors are wound care management is becoming more complex for nurses due to new insights into wound healing (Hayward & Morrison, 1996) and because of the wide variety of wound dressings that are available (Wikblad & Anderson, 1995; Miller, 1994). Erwin-Toth and Hocevar (1995) stated that there were approximately 400 brands of wound care dressings on the market to choose from and that wound care is made even more difficult because no one dressing method suits all wounds and the choice is dependent on the cause of the wound, infection, favorability and cost (Findlay, 1994)
Nurses who assume a holistic approach to wound care recognize that the basis of optimizing wound healing is found in aiding and facilitating healing by helping the body to heal itself. As identified within the literature, (Hall & Schumann, 2001), appropriate wound dressing is crucial to the process
The emotional costs associated with the presence of a chronic wound compound the escalating financial burden of wound care for patients, families, and society. Statement of Purpose Evidence suggests that a number of factors are wound care management is becoming more complex for nurses due to new insights into wound healing (Hayward & Morrison, 1996) and because of the wide variety of wound dressings that are available (Wikblad & Anderson, 1995; Miller, 1994)
Psychosocial Aspects of Wound Care According to Beck (1993), in wound care, there is a need to focus on the physical, psychological, social, environmental and spiritual dimensions of patients needs in assessment, planning and delivery of care. However, nursing assessments and strategies have most frequently concentrated on the physical aspects of wound management (Hopkins 2001)
Remodeling Phase A) 3 weeks to 2 years B) New collagen forms which increases tensile strength to wounds C) Scar tissue is only 80% as strong as original tissue Background Recent estimates suggest that 1% of the total health care dollar is spent on wound care in the U.S. (Lane, 1995)