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Spotlight on... awareness weeks

Awareness weeks guide

Wound Awareness Week

Wound awareness week: 15-21 August 2022

Every day, nearly half a million Australians suffer from a chronic wound with the cost of managing this close to $3billion annually. Despite this, wounds remain a silent epidemic. Wounds can affect people at any stage of life, however the most concerning are wounds that don’t heal, and go on to ulcerate, such as venous leg ulcers. However, these wounds are completely treatable with the right care from a healthcare professional who is up to date with evidence based, best practice treatment. Wound Aware

UpToDate

Diabetes

Burns

Pressure ulcers

Research

 

e-Books

Journals

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Diabetes

Australian guideline on wound healing interventions to enhance healing of foot ulcers: part of the 2021 Australian evidence-based guidelines for diabetes-related foot disease
The International Working Group of the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) guideline for wound healing interventions has been adapted to suit the Australian context, and in particular for geographically remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This new national wound healing guideline, endorsed by ten national peak bodies, also highlights important considerations for implementation, monitoring, and future research priorities in Australia. Journal of foot and ankle research 25 May 2022

Effect of intermittent pneumatic compression with different inflation pressures on the distal microvascular responses of the foot in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Key Messages

  • the optimal dosage of inflation pressure and physiological mechanisms of intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) need to be further investigated in order to better reduce the risk of diabetic foot ulcers
  • the aim of the study is to explore the effect of IPC with different inflation pressures on the foot skin blood flow (SBF) responses in people with type 2 DM.
  • IPC with three different inflation pressures were applied to 24 subjects with and without DM, and their foot SBF responses were measured during and after IPC interventions
  • This study found that 90 and 120 mmHg IPC are more effective in improving blood flow in healthy people, and 120 mmHg IPC may be more suitable for people with type 2 DM

International wound journal: IWJ. 15 September 2021

Engineering nanoparticle therapeutics for impaired wound healing in diabetes
Highlights

  • Natural healing process is halted in inflammatory phase of chronic diabetic wounds.
  • Increased angiogenesis and M2 macrophage content, with decreased ROS is desired.
  • Nanoparticles show increased cellular uptake and sustained release of drug molecules.
  • Current and emerging nanoparticles (protein, polymers, inorganic etc) are introduced.
  • Future development of nanoparticle technologies to bring them to clinic is discussed.

Drug discovery today 25 November 2021

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Burns

Variation in burn wound management approaches for paediatric burn patients in Australia and New Zealand
Significant differences in the patient profile and clinical practices were observed among burn services. A greater understanding of the factors underlying the variations at each particular service will also be helpful. ANZ journal of surgery 17 January 2022

Burns and biofilms: priority pathogens and in vivo models
Burn wounds can create significant damage to human skin, compromising one of the key barriers to infection. The leading cause of death among burn wound patients is infection. Even in the patients that survive, infections can be notoriously difficult to treat and can cause lasting damage, with delayed healing and prolonged hospital stays. Biofilm formation in the burn wound site is a major contributing factor to the failure of burn treatment regimens and mortality as a result of burn wound infection. Bacteria forming a biofilm or a bacterial community encased in a polysaccharide matrix are more resistant to disinfection, the rigors of the host immune system, and critically, more tolerant to antibiotics. Burn wound-associated biofilms are also thought to act as a launchpad for bacteria to establish deeper, systemic infection and ultimately bacteremia and sepsis. In this review, we discuss some of the leading burn wound pathogens and outline how they regulate biofilm formation in the burn wound microenvironment. The authors also discuss the new and emerging models that are available to study burn wound biofilm formation in vivo. Nature 9 September 2021

Techniques to assess long-term outcomes after burn injuries
Burn injuries have a tremendous impact on not only the physical health of the burn survivor, but also mental health and social outcomes of the individual and their support systems. While much effect occurs at the point of injury, post-injury pain, infection, scarring, inflammatory response and metabolic changes all impact the long-term health of the burn survivor. The goal of the following article is to explore how to examine long term outcomes associated with burn injury, including mental disorders, suicide, loss of work and quality of life in the context of risk factors for burn injury, including social determinants of health. We then discuss ways to examine post-burn outcomes, including the important role of administrative data, the advantages of mixed methodology research studies including qualitative research, and the importance of considering sex, gender and vulnerable populations, not only in study design, but in prevention and intervention programs. European burn journal 22 April 2022

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Pressure ulcers

Alternatives and preferences for materials in use for pressure ulcer prevention: An experiment-reinforced literature review
Alleviation of localised, sustained tissue loads and microclimate management are the most critical performance criteria for materials in use for pressure ulcer prevention, such as in prophylactic dressings, padding or cushioning. These material performance criteria can be evaluated by calculating the extents of matching between the material stiffness (elastic modulus) and the thermal conductivity of the protective dressing, padding or cushioning with the corresponding properties of native skin, separately or in combination. Based on these bioengineering performance criteria, hydrocolloids, which are commonly used for prophylaxis of medical device-related pressure ulcers, exhibit poor stiffness matching with skin. In addition, there is remarkable variability in the modulus and thermal conductivity matching levels of different material types used for pressure ulcer prevention, however, it appears that among the materials tested, hydrogels provide the optimal matching with skin, followed by gels and silicone foams. The stiffness matching for hydrocolloids appears to be inferior even to that of gauze. This article provides quantitative performance criteria and metrics for these evaluations, and grades commonly used material types to biomechanically guide clinicians and industry with regards to the selection of dressings for pressure ulcer prevention, both due to bodyweight forces and as a result of applied medical devices. International wound journal 10 March 2022

Nurses’ knowledge and attitudes towards prevention of pressure ulcers
Results showed insufficiencies in the knowledge and attitudes of nurses towards PU prevention. Therefore, it is essential to focus on general education and continuing education and practice of nurses. Further development of educational programs and frequent measurement of these two parameters can lead to a significant improvement in the quality of care provided. International journal of environmental health and public health 10 February 2022

Evidence-based review of the effects of nutritional supplementation for pressure ulcer prevention
The majority of the reviewed studies were of low-to-moderate quality because of biases in the study design and incomplete data reporting, which did not fulfil the reporting criteria of the appraisal tools. However, the majority of the studies showed a reduction in PU incidence after nutritional supplement though not significant. Whether the use of pharmacological appraisal tools to assess non-pharmacological studies is appropriate is unclear. Regardless of the low-to-moderate quality of the studies in this review, nutritional supplements appear to play a role in PU prevention. International wound journal 16 September 2021

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Research

Antimicrobial silver dressings: a review of emerging issues for modern wound care
Antimicrobial silver has had a significant role in wound antisepsis throughout history and, given the rise in community acquired antibiotic resistance, silver dressings are now commonly used to combat wound infection. The multi-modal mechanism of action, low potential for toxicity and formation of microbial resistance makes silver dressings suitable tools against a wide array of clinically important microbes. There are, however, a number of issues with silver dressings including a conflicting evidence base, the important environmental consideration of nanoparticle manufacture, and the significant cost of these products. ANZ journal of surgery 21 November 2021

Reshaping wound care: Evaluation of an artificial intelligence app to improve wound assessment and management amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Wound documentation is integral to effective wound care, health data coding and facilitating continuity of care. This study evaluated the usability and effectiveness of an artificial intelligence application for wound assessment and management from a clinician-and-patient user perspective. International wound journal 25 February 2022

The viability and acceptability of a Virtual Wound Care Command Centre in Australia
The objective of this study was to assess the viability and acceptability of an innovative Virtual Wound Care Command Centre where patients in the community, and their treating clinicians, have access to an expert wound specialist service that comprises a digitally enabled application for wound analysis, decision-making, remote consultation, and monitoring. International wound journal 24 May 2022

A narrative review of the epidemiology and economics of chronic wounds
Chronic wounds have a debilitating effect on the quality of life of many individuals, and the large economic impact on health system budgets warrants greater attention in policy making and condition management than is currently evident. The aim of this narrative review is to summarize the nature and extent of the chronic wound problem that confronts health systems across the world. British journal of dermatology 21 September 2021

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E-Books

This is a sample of the e-books the library subscribes to – you will need your library login

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Journals

This is a sample of the journals the library subscribes to – you will need your library login