Less pain with Biatain-Ibu: initial findings from a randomised, controlled, double-blind clinical investigation on painful venous leg ulcers.

Six out of 10 patients with chronic wounds suffer from persistent wound pain. A multinational and multicentre, randomised, double-blind clinical investigation of 122 patients compared two moist wound-healing dressings, a non adhesive foam dressing with ibuprofen (62 patients randomised to Biatain-Ibu non adhesive, Coloplast A/S) with a non adhesive foam without ibuprofen (60 to Biatain non adhesive). The ibuprofen-foam was regarded successful, if the pain relief on a 5-point verbal rating scale was higher than the comparator without compromising safety, including appropriate healing rate.

A pilot (real-life) randomised clinical evaluation of a pain-relieving foam dressing: (ibuprofen-foam versus local best practice).

The aim of the study was to evaluate a novel foam dressing with continuous low-level release of ibuprofen (Biatain-Ibu foam dressing, Coloplast A/S, Humlebaek, Denmark) in persons with leg ulcers compared to local best practice. An open comparative and prospective block-randomised study of 24 patients was conducted in a Canadian wound clinic. Twelve patients were randomised to ibuprofen-foam and 12 patients to local best practice.

Managing painful chronic wounds: the Wound Pain Management Model.

Chronic wound pain is not well understood and the literature is limited. Six of 10 patients venous leg ulcer experience pain with their ulcer, and similar trends are observed for other chronic wounds. Chronic wound pain can lead to depression and the feeling of constant tiredness.

Debridement: a vital component of wound bed preparation.

Purpose: To provide practitioners with an overview of debridement and its role in wound healing.

Target Audience: This continuing education activity is intended for physicians and nurses who assess and treat wounds.

Objectives: After reading the article and taking the test, the reader should be able to: 1.

Increased bacterial burden and infection: the story of NERDS and STONES.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide practitioners with an overview of wound infection/inflammation and bacterial balance and to offer a guide to assessment and treatment of chronic wounds.

Target Audience: This continuing education activity is intended for physicians and nurses who assess and treat wound infections.

Objectives: After reading this article and taking this test, the participant should be able to: 1.

Rheumatoid arthritis-associated inflammatory leg ulcers: a new treatment for recalcitrant wounds.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis may develop leg ulcers of varied aetiologies, including venous disease, infection and inflammation (vasculitis or pyoderma gangrenosum). The leg ulcers in rheumatoid arthritis patients may involve several of these aetiological factors and are often difficult to heal. Both the ulcers and the treatments are often painful, and these ulcers may be present for years.

The International Interdisciplinary Wound Care Course at the University of Toronto: a 4-year evolution.

The International Interdisciplinary Wound Care Course at the University of Toronto was designed to emphasise interdisciplinary collaboration, examine the evidence base and develop wound care opinion leaders across Canada and internationally. There is a need to translate the new wound care evidence base for diagnosis and treatment into patient care and ultimately improve patient outcomes.

The silver-releasing foam dressing, Contreet Foam, promotes faster healing of critically colonised venous leg ulcers: a randomised, controlled trial.

The study compared the effect of a sustained silver-release foam dressing (Contreet Foam) with a foam dressing (Allevyn Hydrocellular) without added silver in critically colonised venous leg ulcers with delayed healing. The study was a multicentre, open, randomised, controlled study lasting for 4 weeks. Ulcer area and healing were assessed weekly.

A liquid film-forming acrylate for peri-wound protection: a systematic review and meta-analysis (3M Cavilon no-sting barrier film).

To undertake a systematic review of all reliable evaluations of the clinical performance and cost-effectiveness of a film-forming liquid acrylate in the protection of the chronic ulcer peri-wound skin. Results from searches were scrutinised by two reviewers to identify possible randomised controlled trials and full reports of these were obtained. Details of eligible studies were extracted and summarised independently by two reviewers using a data extraction sheet.

The effect of a silver-containing Hydrofiber dressing on superficial wound bed and bacterial balance of chronic wounds.

The treatment of chronic wounds represents a major cost to society and has a profound effect on the participant's quality of life. Chronic wounds may have an increased bacterial burden that can impair healing without all the clinical signs of infection. Silver dressings may provide an alternative topical method to control bacterial burden.

Using a dermal skin substitute in the treatment of chronic wounds secondary to recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa: a case series.

Epidermolysis bullosa is a family of genetic disorders that cause blistering and shearing of the skin from even the mildest trauma. Care generally focuses on preventing infection, protecting the skin against trauma, attending to nutritional deficiencies and dietary complications, minimizing deformities and contractures, and providing psychological support for the entire family. One approach to the treatment of chronic wounds in Epidermolysis bullosa involves tissue engineering, where cells similar to those of the skin, grown on a three-dimensional scaffold, are used to induce healing.

Bench-to-bedside review: Ethical challenges for those in directing roles in critical care units.

Though much attention in the medical literature has focused on the ethics of critical care, it seems to be disproportionately weighted toward clinical issues. On the presumption that the operational management of an intensive care unit (ICU) also requires ethical considerations, it would be useful to know what these are. This review undertook to identify what literature exists with regard to the non-clinical issues of ethical importance in the ICU as encountered by clinician-managers.

Comparing a foam composite to a hydrocellular foam dressing in the management of venous leg ulcers: a controlled clinical study.

Venous leg ulcers are the most prevalent form of chronic wounds in the Western world. The principles of moist wound healing coupled with the use of graduated compression bandaging have become the cornerstone of treatment for venous leg ulcers but not all moist dressings are alike. To compare the attributes of a foam composite dressing with those of a hydrocellular foam dressing in the management of venous leg ulcers, a prospective, randomized, comparative 12-week study was conducted in 15 centers in the US, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK.

Is bed rest an effective treatment modality for pressure ulcers?

Despite the well-documented medical, physical, and psychological complications associated with this care management option, bed rest remains a frequently prescribed treatment modality for conditions such as pressure ulcers. Cognitive and psychosocial complications of bed rest include depression, learned helplessness, perceptual changes, and fatigue. Physically, complications can include contractures, muscle atrophy, osteoporosis, pathologic fractures, urinary tract infections, decreased cardiac reserve, decreased stroke volume, resting and post-exercise tachycardia, orthostatic hypotension, pulmonary embolism, deep venous thrombosis, pneumonia, anorexia, constipation, and bowel impaction.