World Wide Wounds has been the go to site for me for years. This independent online journal serves as a unique resource with peer-reviewed information regarding wound management and dressing materials for wound specialists and other healthcare professionals worldwide. With hundreds of topical wound care articles you are sure to find what you need to know. This site can be reached at www.worldwidewounds.com
OWM Magazine Feed- Wounds Magazine Feed
- Practice Makes Perfect
- In-vitro Comparison of Antimicrobial Efficacy of Various Wound Dressing MaterialsAbstract: Many new antimicrobial dressings have been used for the treatment of or protection against wound infection since the early 1980s. There are many different wound dressings such as silver, povidone iodine, and chlorhexidine impregnated materials on the market today. Various manufacturers assert that their dressings are the most effective and therefor […]
- 17β-Estradiol Modifies Diabetic Wound Healing by Decreasing Matrix Metalloproteinase ActivityAbstract: Postmenopausal women are more susceptible to poor wound healing. This phenomenon can be reversed by estrogen replacement therapy in non-diabetic individuals. Postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes are more susceptible to wound healing complications, potentially secondary to an estrogen deficiency. Few studies have examined the mechanism of actio […]
- Wounds New Product Feed
- Product News May 2010KCI Launches V.A.C. Via™Advanced Mobile Healing Technology read more
- Product News April 2010
- Product News March 2010Carolon Begins New Partnership with sorbion AG read more
- Product News May 2010
Best Wound Care Site: #1 Arimedica
June 18, 2010 — Matthew Livingston R.N. C.W.S.Dr. Gottlieb is by far the smartest man I have ever had the opportunity to meet. He has mastered the complexities of wound care and he is willing to share this knowledge with all it his website Arimedica. The site can be reached at the following link www.arimedica.com
About Arimedica: This site has one purpose, to post and disseminate teaching
materials on certain subjects of medical and scientific interest. It reflects
the interests and activities of its author, Marc E. Gottlieb, MD, Phoenix,
Arizona, and colleagues. It is focused on Wounds, Wound Practice, and related
issues of science and clinical arts. It was started simply as a place to post
presentations in lieu of bringing printed materials to lectures and symposia.
Wound Topics include complex wound causing disorders and unique wound topics including:
Coagulopathies – Understanding wounds and pathologies due to coagulopathic and micro-occlusive disorders.
Auto-immunopathy – Understanding wounds and pathologies due to auto-immune and inflammatory disorders.
Integra – All about Integra artificial skin, it’s biology and clinical use, especially for chronic wounds.
VT & Angiogenesis – The VT model of angiogenesis and the physics of biological network formation.
Comprehensive Wound Education Links
June 22, 2009 — Matthew Livingston R.N. C.W.S.There is a lot of information on the web regarding wound care education. But, only a few that are done on the scale of these four websites. If you are new to wound care or just looking to add a few pearls of information give these websites a try. Some of these sites provide CEUs and others don’t. As always, please let me know if there are any other major wound education sites that I have missed.
Smith and Nephew Global Wound Academy
http://www.globalwoundacademy.com/
The company take on their website: The Academy offers the learner a series of modular courses at different levels through which you can extend your knowledge of wound care. To this effect, ‘The Learning Zone’ presents the theory of wound management moving from basic principles of physiology to advanced wound care and applications and current research in the management of patients with wounds. In addition to this the interactive patient studies enable you to assess, diagnose and treat patients based on their medical history and the results of the clinical tests.
Healthpoint
http://www.thewoundinstitute.com/
The company take on their website: The Wound Institute is dedicated to helping clinicians gain a deeper understanding of wound care and treatment. Here you will find practical, evidence-based resources on most major wound types—information that you can apply directly to your patient population. The Wound Institute contains fully accredited CE/CME programs in wound care education, along with relevant case studies and exercises. You will also find interactive animations and streaming videos, to make your experience engaging, useful and rewarding.
Convatec
http://academy.convatec.com/en/acd-home/acd-home/0/home/0/387/0/default.html?
The company take on their website: ConvaTec recognizes the many pressures faced by health care professionals today including the increasing focus on best practices and evidence-based decisions. With this in mind, we founded this site to provide you, the health care professional, with access to important learning opportunities. We trust that the educational modules you find here will help you in your mission of delivering better patient care outcomes.
KCI
The company take on their website: Wound care is usually considered more an art than a science, with multiple layers of complexity. KCI’s wound care education programs are designed to support clinicians’ efforts to navigate through the labyrinth of information on wound types, assessment, care planning, interventions, products and outcomes management.
If its not a pressure ulcer, then what is it?
January 29, 2009 — Matthew Livingston R.N. C.W.S.Differential diagnosis for pressure ulcers
If its not a pressure ulcer, then what is it?
Intertrigo:
Inflammation of the skin folds caused by friction, perspiration and bioburden.
Assessment characteristics include: erythema, maceration, denuded skin, itching, odor, and satellite skin lesions
Denuded Skin:
Loss of the epidermis is caused by exposure to feces, urine, body fluids, wound drainage or friction
Assessment characteristics include: history of exposure to feces, urine, body fluids, wound drainage or friction and epidermal loss
Friction:
Mechanical force exerted on skin that is dragged across any surface. It is present with shear. (NPUAP, 2007)
Assessment characteristics include: skin is rough and red, the wound is superficial, and observation of how the skin moves across the bed surface
Shear:
Interaction of both gravity and friction against the surface of the skin; when layers of skin rub against each other or when the skin remains stationary and the underlying tissue moves, stretches, and angulates or tears the underlying capillaries and blood vessels causing tissue damage. (NPUAP, 2007)
Assessment characteristics include: Deep undermining wound and the observation of how tissue rubs against tissue
Irritant Contact Dermatitis:
Acute irritant dermatitis usually occurs after a short single exposure to a potent irritant. Wound exudate has a very irritant effect on skin surrounding a wound. Preparations such as antiseptics, adhesives, and bandages applied directly to the skin, may be contributing factors in the production of this type of skin reaction.
Assessment characteristics include: Erythematous (redness of the skin), Scaling, and Papulovesicular dermatitis
Asteatotic Dermatitis:
Inflammation of the skin related to skin dryness.
Assessment characteristics include: It is pruritic, dry skin of the lower legs with a network of erythematous superficial fissures.
The condition is common in elderly patients.
Fungal / Yeast (Candidiasis):
Skin Infection of the Skin Folds and Peri-anal area.
Assessment characteristics include: peeling, bright red rash, rash may also appear white, small pustules, intense itching and burning, skin breakdown or blistering.
Vascular Wound Assessment (Getting to the Heart of the Matter)
January 13, 2009 — Matthew Livingston R.N. C.W.S.VASCULAR ASSESSMENT
The vascular assessment will answer the question “Does the wound have enough blood supply to heal?”
Healthy tissue is bright, beefy red, shiny, and granular with a velvety appearance. Tissue with poor
vascular supply is pale pink or blanched to dull, dusky red color.
Physical vascular assessment includes: peripheral pulses, temperature, presence or absence of hair,
mild to severe pain, rest pain, edema, and gangrene. The vascular assessment should also include:
Pallor: White, pale, blanched color of a limb when in the upright position.
Rubor: Dark purple to bright red color of a limb when in a dependent position.
Intermittent claudication: Cramping or fatigue of major muscle groups in one or both lower extremities that is reproducible upon walking a specific distance. This suggests intermittent claudication and is caused by muscle ischemia.
Mottling or mottled skin: Irregular patchy skin coloring. Refers specifically related to blood
vessel changes in the skin which cause the patchy appearance. This may indicate
vascular insufficiency.
Capillary refill: The measurement of the rate of blood refill in empty capillaries . Measured
by pressing a nail bed or area of tissue until it turns white and then timing until the
return of color once the pressure is released. Normal refill time is less than 2 seconds.
Diagnostic studies for vascular assessment:
Transcutaneous oxygen measurement (TCOM)
Ankle brachial index (ABI)
Arterial duplex scan
Arteriogram
Magnetic Resonance Arteriogram (MRA)
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Authors
Matthew Livingston R.N. C.W.S.