Dressings

By Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine Journal Review Club

Editor's note: This post is part of the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine (TUSPM) journal review club blog series. In each blog post, a TUSPM student will review a journal article relevant to wound management and related topics and provide their evaluation of the clinical research therein.

By Cheryl Carver, LPN, WCC, CWCA, FACCWS, DAPWCA, CLTC

Whether you are a provider or a clinician, the challenge of wound dressing selection is ongoing. I have been an educator for quite some time now, and have found that the easiest way to teach dressing selection is by dressing category and wound depth.

By Aletha Tippett MD

How often have you thought about using honey in a wound dressing? Never? In twenty years of wound care, honey was always something that could be used – sometimes by itself on a wound, or sometimes with other dressing material used on a wound.

By the WoundSource Editors

Moist wound healing is the practice of keeping a wound in an optimally moist environment in order to promote faster healing. Research has shown that moist wound healing is three to five times quicker than the healing of wounds that are allowed to dry out.

By Cheryl Carver, LPN, WCC, CWCA, FACCWS, DAPWCA, CLTC

The growing market for bioactive wound care products has been very interesting and exciting to me. I have been involved the past couple years as an anonymous wound panel expert, council member, and consultant for upcoming bioactive wound care dressing research. We will start seeing an increase in various biomaterials, versus gauze and superabsorbent dressing types used globally. Multifunctional-type dressings will also make waves.

By the WoundSource Editors

Occlusive dressings are used for sealing particular types of wounds and their surrounding tissue off from air, fluids and harmful contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, in a trauma or first aid situation. They are often utilized as an immediate means of controlling the cleanliness of a wound as well as the loss of blood until surgery can be used for long-term treatment. Although no wound dressing can provide complete seal, the waxy, non-absorbent nature of occlusive dressings are often enough. The quality of the provided seal often depends on factors such as the skill of the person dressing the wound, the nature of the wound and the condition of the area around the wound. Health care professionals are trained in the application of this kind of dressing, but the task is sometimes taken on by a patient's long-term caregiver.

By Terri Kolenich, RN, CWCA, AAPWCA

I travel to several states educating wound care providers and nurses in the long-term care setting. Many of the questions I get are the same whether I'm on the east or west coast. The one question that I encounter the most often during wound rounds or an education session is: "How do I know which treatment to use for this wound?"

By the WoundSource Editors

Hydrocolloid dressings provide a moist and insulating healing environment which protects uninfected wounds while allowing the body's own enzymes to help heal wounds. These dressings are unique because they don't have to be changed as often as some other wound dressings and are easy to apply. Hydrocolloid dressings:

By Cheryl Carver, LPN, WCC, CWCA, FACCWS, DAPWCA, CLTC

The big debate continues in regards to using wet-to-dry dressings. One thing that is for certain though is that this type of dressing is frowned upon in long-term care facilities per the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) Guidelines for pressure ulcers. However, long-term care facilities are put at risk for citations when using wet-to-dry dressings for any wound type.

By Michel H.E. Hermans, MD

Recently I paid a visit to one of the better known wound care centers in the North East. As I expected, treatment of the common lesions seen in this center, such as venous leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers, was top notch. The use of compression and offloading, proper wound debridement and modern dressings (including, where indicated, biologics and matrices), in combination with the option for vascular, plastic and orthopedic (i.e. for Charcot foot) reconstruction resulted in good healing results, with high percentages of reepithelialization within a relatively short time frame.