Self-care and postoperative dressing management.

As the increasing burden on healthcare costs continues to rise, posing clinical and financial challenges for all healthcare providers attempting to provide optimal, evidence-based wound care, the situation appears to be reaching the tipping point with regard to reduced resources, increasing patient groups with complex wounds and financial restraints. It is clearly time for action and new ways of working that include empowering patients and carers to take appropriate ownership within their personal wound-care journey. This observational evaluation explores 10 community-based patients presenting with postoperative acute surgical wounds; it examines and evaluates the patients' experience with regard to self-care satisfaction, Leukomed Control product satisfaction and actual traditional/personal costs incurred up to a 4-week period. The evaluation highlights not only an overall positive improvement within patient satisfaction and experience, alongside optimised wound progression and related cost savings, but also offers a valuable insight into the promotion and success of patients taking ownership of their wound-care journey.

Evaluating the effect of a haemoglobin spray on size reduction in chronic DFUs: clinical outcomes at 12 weeks.

A recent multi-centre observational evaluation investigated the effect of a topical haemoglobin spray (Granulox, Infirst), used as an adjunct to standard care, on wound size reduction in 17 patients (4 females/13 males) with 20 chronic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) over a 4-week period. In 14 of the 18 wounds that completed the evaluation (one patient dropped out due to an infection) there was a mean reduction of 53.8% (range: 11.9-100%). The product was acceptable to both patients and clinicians, who all found it easy to use. This article describes the outcomes for the remaining 13 patients (with 15 wounds) who continued using the spray after the 4-week evaluation ended. (Data are not available for two patients and the one patient who healed during the 4-week evaluation.) By 12 weeks, three wounds (20%) had healed, eight (53%) were progressing towards healing, three (20%) increased in size and one (7%) was slow healing.