WoundSource Practice Accelerator's blog

Bioprinting: Also called three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting, this process combines 3D printing technologies with biomaterials to replicate parts that imitate natural tissues, bones, and blood vessels in the body.

Chronic wounds: Wounds that fail to heal in an orderly and timely manner in 30 days.

Complex wounds: A term clinicians may use to describe a wound that may have any number of complications, such as infection or chronicity. Common wounds that are classified as complex include fungating lesions, venous leg ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, pressure injuries, open trauma, and wound fistulas.

Patients with wounds are frequently treated pharmacologically for both their wounds and their acute or chronic conditions. On a daily basis, patients usually take at least five drugs to treat multiple chronic conditions, and this level of drug use is termed polypharmacy. Polypharmacy can also be defined as the intake of more medications than are medically necessary for a particular problem or the continuation of intake after the initial problem has been resolved

Patients who are immunocompromised present a unique and difficult challenge when considering wound care and healing. These patients may include children, older adults, organ transplant recipients, patients with cancer, those with diabetes mellitus, or those with HIV/AIDS. Immunocompromised patients are at increased risk of hypothermia, infection, and otherwise poorly healing or recurrent wounds. Many treatments for infection and interventions to promote wound healing rely on a properly functioning immune system. In immunocompromised patients, alternate treatment methods are needed to compensate for the impairments in their natural immune response.

Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) and amputations were already a major health concern before the pandemic, but with the spread of COVID-19 and global shutdowns, amputation numbers have increased significantly in light of recent changes to the health care system. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only led to widespread coronavirus infection, but also has given rise to a higher incidence of HAPIs and amputations. How did this happen, and where do we go from here?

Pressure injuries are among the most serious health and patient safety concerns that health care facilities deal with on a daily basis, according to The Joint Commission. The number of patients affected annually is 2.5 million. Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) cost the US health care system between $9.1 and $11.6 billion per year.

Automated clinical workflow: Technology that aims to improve the functionality of the health care system by streamlining the process and providing patients with the best health experience possible. This technology allows clinicians to perform jobs in less time or with less effort, which reduces the wait time for other tasks.

Care management Never Events: A type of Never Event related to improper, insufficient, or negligent clinical care. Examples include events resulting from medication errors, the administration of ABO-incompatible blood or blood products, and death or disability secondary to spinal manipulative therapy.

Criminal Never Events: A type of Never Event in which criminal conduct occurs. Examples include impersonation of a health care provider, abduction of a patient, and sexual assault.

Medical device–related pressure injuries (MDRPIs) comprise a growing concern in health care, and it costs health care facilities $2.73 billion to $3.48 billion per year in the United States alone. According to The Joint Commission, MDRPIs account for over 30% of hospital-acquired injuries, a number that has grown over the past few years. New medical devices improve patient care, but they also carry a risk for pressure injuries (PIs) if these devices are not used properly and monitored appropriately.

Hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) arise while a patient is in the hospital being treated for an initial, separate illness or injury. Patients are further harmed as a result of these conditions. Approximately 5% to 10% of hospitalized patients in the United States are afflicted with HACs each year, and the health care system is burdened by $20 billion yearly.

Medical errors that fall into one of the established categories of HACs are tracked nationally. To calculate the HAC score, the total number of reported errors is taken into account. Certain HACs that occur frequently, can cause significant harm, and are generally preventable based on available research are the conditions that hospitals and health care practitioners concentrate on minimizing.

Antimicrobial Resistance: The process that occurs when bacteria, fungi, and parasites (microorganisms) change over time and no longer respond to antimicrobial medications. This resistance makes it more difficult to treat infections and increases the risk of spreading diseases that result in severe illness and death.

Antibiotic Resistant: Organisms that have the ability to alter themselves genetically so that antibiotics do not have an inhibitory or lethal effect on them, thus allowing continued proliferation.

Antiseptic: Any chemical agent preventing or inhibiting microorganism growth.

The incorporation of silver into wound dressings has been a breakthrough to combat the effects of antibiotic resistance, despite silver safety concerns. Regardless of its recent popularity, silver is not a new tool in health care.