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Situation

Patient presented with a traumatic injury to left hand sustained while sailing. The wound was 3 weeks old and covered in hardened necrotic tissue.

Action(s) taken/ treatment provided

Upon advice from clinician, patient covered wound in plastic wrap overnight to soften and visited hospital the following morning. A monofilament fibre debridement lolly was used to mechanically debride outer necrotic eschar. An ionic hydrogel dressing was then applied for further autolytic debridement and deeper wound assessment. The dressing was removed after 24 hours and mechanically debrided again with monofilament fibre debridement lolly. After full wound assessment, decision was made to intervene surgically and patient received a skin graft within 24 hours.

Outcome(s)

After 3 months, the skin graft had healed and patient regained full use and movement of his hand.

Lesson(s) learned

The combination of mechanical and autolytic debridement using two simple, easy to use, community based products allowed for full assessment of the wound bed. The treating clinician was able to assess, dress, reassess and refer, resulting in a fast decision to send the patient for surgical intervention and improved overall clinical outcome.

Situation

Intellectually disabled 54 year old man with diabetes, obesity and hypertension. The patient has peripheral neuropathy of feet and developed a diabetic foot ulcer. Surgical debridement was performed in OR and wound was initially treated with impregnated gauze ribbon changed twice daily and cleaned with PHMB solution.

Action(s) taken/ treatment provided

A review of treatment regime and dressings was conducted at 5 weeks post-operation due to deterioration of wound, odour and possibility of future amputation of foot. New treatment plan included cleansing and debridement with and monofilament fibre pad and use of biocellulose hydrobalance dressing dipped in PHMB solution to improve rate of healing.

Outcome(s)

After 9 days, wound was granulating with reduced level of exudate and odour. Total cost of dressings over 9 days of treatment was $114.51. Patient was able to be transferred to a rehabilitation facility and avoided amputation.

Lesson(s) learned

After 5 weeks using a wound dressing regime including gauze and time consuming twice-daily dressing changes, the wound had deteriorated, rather than progressed towards healing. The change of dressing plan resulted in granulation and wound progression in just 9 days. Dressings were cost effective and saved time as did not need to be changed so regularly.

Situation

Patient is a 73 year old lady who has been suffering with venous leg ulcers since 2016. On presentation, she had leg ulcers measuring more than 50cm2 which were very painful with high levels of exudate.

Action(s) taken/ treatment provided

Compression therapy was initially commenced with a long stretch compression bandage. This was changed to a 2 layer resuable short stretch system due to ease of use and patient comfort. This was a cost effective option as patient was able to wash, re-roll and reuse the bandages throughout her treatment from September 2019 to February 2020. The bandages were skin friendly and comfortable for the patient who is prone to dermatitis. The wounds were managed with alternate combinations of ionic gel dressing for pain relief, cadexomer iodine, antimicrobial dressings and biocellulose hydrobalance dressings.

Outcome(s)

In the first 4 weeks, the ulcers had reduced in size by 50% and after 6 months of treatment the wounds had fully closed.

Lesson(s) learned

In the absence of corrective surgery, compression therapy has been found to be the most effective treatment for venous leg ulcers (VLUs)1. Achieving healing rests on patients’ adherence to treatment and in this case it was found that compression bandages which are both cost effective and comfortable for the patient are more likely to encourage patient concordance. Compression therapy alongside effective wound care resulted in full healing for this patient after 4 years of suffering with venous leg ulcers.

Situation

Patient presented with bi-lateral leg ulceration and was being treated daily by a GP. Wounds had been present for the past 133 weeks and compression therapy was not part of the treatment regime.

Action(s) taken/treatment provided

Upon referral to the Nurse Navigator service at Princess Alexandra Hospital, routine vascular tests were carried out and he was deemed suitable for light compression therapy in addition to a wound care treatment plan, including wound bed preparation with monofilament fibre debridement pad. Compression bandaging is the gold standard treatment for those suffering from venous ulceration. The short-stretch bandage of choice delivers safe, light compression and is washable to help reduce the costs of ongoing treatment.

Outcome(s)

Wound healing progress was slow but consistent with the use of short stretch compression and the wound care treatment plan. Patient was adherent to care and found compression bandage to be comfortable, affordable, helped to reduce pain and improve quality of life. Leg ulcers fully healed after 32 weeks of treatment.

Lesson(s) learned

The Nurse Navigator supported patient care at GP practice to enable collaboration and education of those involved in ongoing care. This ensured a holistic approach to care allowing for systems improvement, patient centred care, improving patient outcomes and most importantly creating partnership between the GP practice and hospital.

The treatment of acute and chronic infected wounds with residing biofilm still poses a major challenge in medical care. Interactions of antimicrobial dressings with bacterial load, biofilm matrix and the overall protein-rich wound microenvironment remain insufficiently studied. This analysis aimed to extend the investigation on the efficacy of a variety of antimicrobial dressings using an in vitro biofilm model (lhBIOM) mimicking the specific biofilm-environment in human wounds. Four wound dressings containing polyhexanide (PHMB), octendine di-hydrochloride (OCT), cadexomer-iodine (C-IOD) or ionic silver (AG) were compared regarding their antimicrobial efficacy. Quantitative analysis was performed using a quantitative suspension method, separately assessing remaining microbial counts within the solid biofilm as well as the dressing eluate (representing the absorbed wound exudate). Dressing performance was tested against P. aeruginosa biofilms over the course of 6 days. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to obtain qualitative visualization on changes in biofilm structure. C-IOD demonstrated superior bacterial reduction. In comparison it was the only dressing achieving a significant reduction of more than 7 log10 steps within 3 days. Neither the OCT- nor the AG-containing dressing exerted a distinct and sustained antimicrobial effect. PHMB achieved a non-significant microbicidal effect (1.71 ± 0.31 log10 steps) at day 1. Over the remaining course (6 days) it demonstrated a significant microbistatic effect compared to OCT, AG and the control. Quantitative results in the dressing eluate correlate with those of the solid biofilm model. Overall, AG- and OCT-containing dressings did not achieve the expected anti-biofilm efficacy, while C-IOD performed best. Chemical interaction with the biofilms extrapolymeric substance (EPS), visualized in the SEM, and dressing configuration (agent concentration and release pattern) are suspected to be responsible. The unexpected low and diverse results of the tested antimicrobial dressings indicate a necessity to rethink non-debridement anti-biofilm therapy. Focussing on the combination of biofilm-disruptive (for EPS structure) and antimicrobial (for residing microorganisms) features, as with C-IOD, using dehydration and iodine, appears reasonably complementary and an optimal solution, as suggested by the here presented in vitro data.

A monofilament fibre debridement pad has been found to be a rapid and effective mechanical method of removing dry skin, biofilm and debris from acute and chronic wounds with minimal patient discomfort. Evidence of its impact on prescribing and wound healing, however, has been more limited. The aim of this audit was to show evidence of the monofilament fibre debridement pad's impact on wound treatment costs through an analysis of NHS wound-care prescribing data in England. A dataset for 486 uniquely identified patients who had been newly prescribed the monofilament fibre debridement pad was obtained from the NHS Business Services Authority. All data were anonymised. Costs were identified for the six months before and six months after the month of first prescription of the monofilament fibre debridement pad. The total cost of wound-care prescribing fell by 14% or £101,723 in the six months after the intervention compared with the six months before. The average monthly expenditure per patient fell from £244 before the intervention to £209 (n=486) after. These results indicate that use of the monofilament fibre debridement pad could reduce prescribing costs and the use of antimicrobial and negative pressure therapies. Further research is warranted to investigate the clinical role of the monofilament fibre debridement pad in wound healing.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an iodine tampon on postoperative discomfort after surgical removal of a mandibular third molar.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Patients were randomly assigned to two groups: one group received an alveolar iodine-containing tampon in the extraction socket (N = 44), and the other group used a disposable syringe (Monoject®) to rinse the wound (N = 43). Postoperative discomfort was assessed with the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire, Pain Intensity Numerical Rating Scale (PI-NRS), and questions about self-care and discomfort.

RESULTS

This study included 87 patients (52 women and 35 men) with an average age of 26.47 years (SD, 6.36). The mean OHIP-14 sum scores were significantly lower in the iodine tampon group compared with the Monoject® syringe group. Mean PI-NRS scores significantly differed between the iodine tampon group (3.33; SE, 0.27) and Monoject® syringe group (4.46; SE, 0.27) (F (1, 85) = 8.16, p < 0.01), with no interaction effect between time and PI-NRS (F (6, 510) = 1.26, p = 0.28). Patients in the iodine tampon group reported less postoperative discomfort.

CONCLUSIONS

Insertion of an iodine-containing tampon in the postoperative socket reduced the pain and impact on oral health-related quality of life during the first postoperative week and positively influenced postoperative sequelae.

Dressings continue to be a key part of successful wound care, however, choosing the right product for the right patient at the right time can be challenging for the clinician (Hedger, 2014). Modern foam dressings have been widely available since the mid-1970s with the aim to manage light-to-heavy exuding wounds (Hedger et al, 2014). Historically, bordered foam dressings have utilised acrylic-based adhesives; however, these have been associated with increased risk of skin sensitisation and medical adhesive-related skin injuries (MARSI; Meuleneire and Rucknagel, 2013; Hedger et al, 2014; Mestach et al, 2018; Downie and Collier, 2021). A clinical evaluation was undertaken to detail the characteristics and performance of Suprasorb® P sensitive silicone foam dressing (L&R Healthcare). The evaluation comprised a minimum of four dressing changes over at least 2 weeks. Fifty patients (51 wounds) were included in the evaluation. At the final evaluation, 57% (n=29) of the wounds were recorded as improved, 37% (n=19) were recorded as static and 6% (n=3) were recorded as having deteriorated. Of the 27% (n=14) evaluations where patients reported self caring, 71% scored Suprasorb P sensitive as above average for ease of use, suggesting the dressing may be suitable for patients who were self-caring and can apply their own dressing. Suprasorb P sensitive performed well in all the parameters evaluated and may be considered where effective exudate handling, improved patient comfort and ease of handling is required.

Since the introduction of negative pressure therapy of the abdomen, care has been taken to protect the intestine from the effects of negative pressure in order to avoid impairments of abdominal organs. As an alternative to the widespread AB-Thera^R system (KCI, San Antonio, Texas, USA), the different concept of Suprasorb CNP^R (Lohmann & Rauscher, Austria-Germany) was introduced by the producer with the premise of achieving a better therapeutic effect. Due to numerous pores of the film, the effects of the negative pressure are brought to the surface of the intestinal organs and these effects were tested on seven experimental animals. Particular attention was paid to the small intestine, colon, liver, and pancreas. Over 8 h continuously, three animals were tested with −80 mmHg, 4 with −60 mmHg. The results showed no macroscopic pathological changes. The histological results showed borderline changes in the small intestine and colon with −80 mmHg application, minimal or none with −60 mmHg. The liver and pancreas were found free of pathological changes. For use on human organs, the intra-abdominal application of −60 mmHg for the Suprasorb CNP system is proposed as the standard.