Post-operative pain management among surgical trauma patients in an acute ward: a best practice implementation project.

INTRODUCTION: Effective pain management should be one of the main goals of healthcare professionals. The trauma unit of a hospital in an urban area of Spain carried out an implementation project, guided by the evidence-based criteria from JBI, to put in place the processes and initiatives needed to reduce post-operative pain. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this implementation project was to promote evidence-based practice in managing post-operative pain. METHODS: A pre-post implementation audit was implemented using the JBI Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System (PACES) and Getting Research into Practice (GRiP) tool. Each audit included 30 post-operative patients from a randomized sample who were evaluated before the project started and six months after key strategies had been implemented. The criteria were audited according to evidence-based process criteria. RESULTS: At the baseline audit, the compliance percentages for the evidence-based criteria ranged from 10% to 43%. Seven obstacles were identified in relation to post-operative pain management. Following the GRiP table, the team established a series of strategies and resources to implement the improvement actions. When the implementation period ended, all the criteria had improved. CONCLUSIONS: The quality improvement cycle allowed us to implement the clinical best practice recommendations, with subsequent outcome improvements for patients. Future audits should be performed to drive new cycles of improvement in evidence-based practice.

Preliminary experience of an expert panel using Triangle Wound Assessment for the evaluation of chronic wounds.

OBJECTIVE: Wound assessment is an essential part of wound management and has traditionally focused on the wound bed. The Triangle of Wound Assessment (Triangle) is a new assessment tool that includes a holistic evaluation of the patient with a wound. The aim of this pilot study was to describe the use of the Triangle in our clinical practice in Spain. METHODS: Prospective, consecutive patients, male and female, over 18 years old, with wounds of any aetiology and duration, who attended the centres involved in the study, were recruited between May and June 2017. The TWA was used during the first presentation, to assess the wound bed, edge and periwound skin. The study's expert panel met to discuss the results collected by the assessment, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the system. RESULTS: We recruited 90 patients. Non-viable tissue (necrotic/sloughy) was recorded in 57.8% of the patients, elevated exudate (medium/high) in 52.2%. Approximately 25% of the patients had signs or symptoms of local infection. Maceration was the most prevalent issue recorded on the wound edge and periwound skin assessment, affecting 31.1% and 30.0% of the patients, respectively. The presence of hyperkeratosis was high for the study population as the main aeitologies of the wounds identified here were DFU. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of Triangle Wound Assessment could help in the holistic approach to patient care by focusing on more than local wound care, identifying barriers to achieving wound healing and evaluating wound response and patient compliance.

[Cost-effectiveness of a TLC-NOSF polyurethane foam dressing]. / Coste-Efectividad de un apósito de espuma de poliuretano con TLC-NOSF.

Chronic wounds represent a drain on the Spanish health system, nowdays is necessary an optimization of the resources used and that is for this that is necessary justify the use of the products over others through cost-effective studies for to show the economic benefit to professionals and the life quality of patient. This article compares the use of a new technology for format polyurethane foam, TLC-NOSF, with the most commonly used products for treating wounds. This comparison is made using a cost-effectiveness model (Markov Model). The results demonstrate that treatment with polyurethane foam dressing with TLC-NOSF are cost-effective versus treatments with polyurethane foams most commonly used in Spain.