wound management 2 Flashcards
Antimicrobial Dressings
- types, how they work and when to apply
- Silver dressings: Mepilex AgTM
> Polyurethane foam (Semi Occlusive)
> Silver is bactericidal - Effective against pseudomonas
- Antifungal
- No known resistance
() - Granulation / epithelialization phase
> Non cytotoxic and increase epithelialization - Bactericidal
- Can be left on wound for 3-7 days
> Grey/Green, odor…normal
Wound Topical Medications
- useful? what types to use?
- Wound Topical Medications
- Does not replace good wound management * Of little benefit but if you decided to use:
- Oil based may be better for healthy granulation tissue because it forms an oily barrier to dehydration
- Water based better for delayed primary closure because it can be lavaged out more easily
Vacuum Assisted Closure (VAC)
- how does it work? what does it do?
- Constant or intermittent vacuum applied to the wound
> Promotes drainage, decreases edema, promotes bacterial clearance
> Increases wound blood flow, promotes granulation tissue and wound contraction - “Open cell” foam covered by airtight plastic, connected to a pump
Open Wound Tx Routine…
- Use correct attire
- Sedation / analgesia (if needed)
- Remove the bandage
- Assess the wound
- Débride (if necrotic tissue present)
- Lavage
- Re-assess the wound
- Re-bandage (usually with honey, sugar or mepilex) until a healthy bed of granulation tissue begins to cover the wound - then non-adherent dressing only
Clean and granulating wound
- what do we do?
- surgical closure (secondary closure)
> complete closure or graft
> partial closure or partial graft
OR - aim for healing by second intention
> continue bandaging
Wound Closure options
- Primary closure
- Delayed primary closure
- Secondary closure
- Healing by second intention
First Intention Healing
- what is this
- Ideal apposition of subcutaneous, dermis and epidermis (your goal if primary closure)
- Epithelial seal within 24h (ideal conditions)
- Fast
- Less scarring
- Less pain
- Less bandaging
Primary Closure (First Intention Healing)
- used for which wounds?
Most surgical wounds which are clean wounds
* Some clean contaminated & traumatic wounds
> Minimal tissue contamination or trauma
()
Primary Closure = Fresh wound
* Caught in a hook, less than 1h ago
* Minimal contamination (clean contaminated)
* Minimal tissue injury
DelayedPrimaryClosure (First Intention Healing)
- what is this for? what does it allow for?
- Wounds that are not closed immediately but are closed before granulation tissue appears (2-5 days)
()
Allows for lavage and debridement of a wound: - Contaminated
- Clean but not fresh when examined
- Contused / swollen
- Tissues that need to declare themselves
Secondary Closure (Third Intention Healing)
- what is this for?
- > 5 days
- Granulation tissue in the wound
- Wounds that are not ready for delayed closure because of excess infection, necrotic tissue or wound already granulated
Secondary Closure advantages
- Limits risks of infection (vs 1st intention)
> More time for debridement
> Granulation tissue acts as a
biological barrier to infection - Limit dead space (vs 1st intention)
- Faster than 2nd intention healing which often lowers cost
Secondary Wound Closure disadvantages
- Closure of a granulated wound can be difficult due to the adherence of the surrounding epithelium to the granulation bed
Second Intention Healing - what does this mean? what do we do?
- Wound is left to heal and close on its own by granulation, epithelialization and contraction
- No actual surgical closure but need wound management, debridement, bandage changes until closed or almost closed
- Can get very labour intensive and expensive!!
Second Intention Healing is ideal for…
- Wounds that are heavily contaminated or bruised
- Wounds that can easily be covered by a bandage
- *Wounds surrounded by enough extra tissues to allow
/ facilitate contraction and closure -
Where primary closure is not possible because there is not enough loose skin
** This is not necessarily cheaper than surgery…
Second Intention Healing - considerations about skin contraction? how to deal with incomplete coverage naturally?
Contraction power is limited… after that you only get epithelial coverage
* This tissue is thin and will be easily traumatized
* Full thickness skin flap or graft is necessary
Second Intention Healing considerations close to joint
Beware of wounds healing by second intention close to a joint … This can result in contracture and decreased range
of motion
options for contaminated, undeclared, need to debride, not enough tissue wounds
Treat Open
- Delayed primary closure (before granulation tissue <5days)
- Secondary Closure (after granulation tissue >5days)
- Heal by second intention contraction and epithelialization
Debridement, lavage and primary closure
- for what wounds?
Convert contaminated wound into one clean enough to be closed primarily (usually over a drain). e.g. bite wounds over the thorax/abdomen