Webinar on Wound Care for Medical Directors in LTC
Later this month I will be giving a free webinar sponsored by McKnights Long-Term Care News & Assisted Living entitled Wound Care: What the Medical Director Needs to Know. This Webinar will be part of McKnights 8th Online Expo, that will feature other webinar...
Philippe Pinel and the Lunar Society in New Jersey
Last week I had the opportunity to give a lecture at the Lunar Society – an offshoot of the Medical History Society of New Jersey – on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The Lunar Society is named after a British social club in the 18th century which...
Webinar on Palliative Care for Chronic Wounds
When healing is not the goal, a palliative care approach can reduce suffering, avert painful procedures, and reduce re-hospitalizations. I will be giving a live webinar on Thursday, February 13th from 12 to 1 PM on Palliative Care for Chronic Wounds, sponsored by the...
New Research Suggests Hypotension is a Risk Factor for Pressure Ulcers
The industry-wide acceptance of risk assessment scales for pressure ulcers has gotten us accustomed to evaluating risk factors for skin breakdown. The most popular is the Braden Scale which incorporates subscales of sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility,...
Wound Healing in the Geriatric Patient
I recently served as guest editor of a special issue on aging for Today’s Wound Clinic, a magazine devoted to contemporary approaches to wound clinic management. This special issue on the geriatric patient was published in November/December 2013, Volume 7, Issue 9....
New Research Challenges “Q2H” Turning Standard for Pressure Ulcer Prevention
The industry standard for turning and repositioning a patient at risk for pressure ulcers is every two hours. There is, however, limited research to support this standard. As the costliest elements of pressure ulcer prevention are support surfaces and repositioning, a...
The Unavoidable Pressure Ulcer Gains Credibility with Geriatrics Practitioners
The 8th Edition of the Geriatric Review Syllabus (GRS8) released this year contains a brief but significant addition to the chapter on pressure ulcers: a section on the unavoidable pressure ulcer. This is the first time an official study guide for the medical...
Dakin’s Solution: Past, Present, and Future.
This article on the history of Dakin's Solution was published in the journal, Advances in Skin & Wound Care. Dakin's solution has been used for almost a century for treatment of infected wounds. Developed by a biochemist named Henry Dakin in the early 20th...
The Legacy of Letchworth Village
We often think that medical progress marches in a straight line, but that is not the case. Some ideas change the field rapidly, while others sit by the sidelines for decades before being accepted. Others are accepted by the medical profession like a fad only to fall...
Wounds of a Boxer: Medical Secrets from Ancient Rome
Over the past month an ancient sculptural masterpiece has been on temporary display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Greek and Roman halls. On loan from Rome's Museo Nazionale Romano, “Boxer at Rest” depicts a battered pugilist immediately after a fight. His face...
CMS recognizes the Kennedy Terminal Ulcer in Long-Term Care Hospitals
The Kennedy Terminal Ulcer (KTU) has been around for over two decades, and continues to play a large part in discussions as to whether pressure ulcers are avoidable or unavoidable. Until now the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has not acknowledged the...
Peripheral Arterial Disease: an Often-Overlooked Cause of Poor Wound Healing
This article was published in Today's Wound Clinic, Volume 7, Issue 5 (June/July) 2013. Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) of the lower limbs is often neglected when evaluating reasons for poor wound healing, particularly in elderly patients. Affecting roughly 12-14%...