1/17. Maggot therapy for the treatment of intractable wounds.BACKGROUND: Fly maggots have been known for centuries to help debride and heal wounds. Maggot therapy was first introduced in the USA in 1931 and was routinely used there until the mid-1940s in over 300 hospitals. With the advent of antimicrobiols, maggot therapy became rare until the early 1990s, when it was re-introduced in the USA, UK, and israel. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of maggot therapy for the treatment of intractable, chronic wounds and ulcers in long-term hospitalized patients in israel. methods: Twenty-five patients, suffering mostly from chronic leg ulcers and pressure sores in the lower sacral area, were treated in an open study using maggots of the green bottle fly, Phaenicia sericata. The wounds had been present for 1-90 months before maggot therapy was applied. Thirty-five wounds were located on the foot or calf of the patients, one on the thumb, while the pressure sores were on the lower back. Sterile maggots (50-1000) were administered to the wound two to five times weekly and replaced every 1-2 days. Hospitalized patients were treated in five departments of the Hadassah Hospital, two geriatric hospitals, and one outpatient clinic in Jerusalem. The underlying diseases or the causes of the development of wounds were venous stasis (12), paraplegia (5), hemiplegia (2), Birger's disease (1), lymphostasis (1), thalassemia (1), polycythemia (1), dementia (1), and basal cell carcinoma (1). Subjects were examined daily or every second day until complete debridement of the wound was noted. RESULTS: Complete debridement was achieved in 38 wounds (88.4%); in three wounds (7%), the debridement was significant, in one (2.3%) partial, and one wound (2.3%) remained unchanged. In five patients who were referred for amputation of the leg, the extremities was salvaged after maggot therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Maggot therapy is a relatively rapid and effective treatment, particularly in large necrotic wounds requiring debridement and resistant to conventional treatment and conservative surgical intervention.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/17. Improving the treatment of leg ulcers.Treatment of leg ulcers is often inadequate, with delayed diagnosis, overuse of antibiotics, and insufficient or inadequate use of compression therapy. Ulcers caused by arterial insufficiency will not heal unless the blood flow is improved. Ulcers caused by venous insufficiency will usually heal within a few months with appropriate compression therapy. Compression can be applied with stockings, bandages, or a pump. Class 2 compression stockings are required for treatment of ulcers; TED stockings and Class 1 stockings do not provide adequate compression. A four-layer compression bandage can be used if a patient cannot manage stockings. Applying the bandage with the correct pressure is a skill developed from practice. A pump can be used if neither stockings nor bandages are suitable. However, it must be used for six hours a day, which precludes use by active patients. An ulcer that does not heal with three months of adequate compression therapy requires further investigation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/17. A preliminary study of the feasibility of wound telecare for the elderly.We have developed a method for remote wound assessment in the elderly. Wound images were taken with a digital camera at a resolution of 640x480 pixels. JPEG compression was then used to produce images of about 100 kByte. Selected clinical data were transmitted by email, together with standardized digital images of wounds. The remote physician then read the clinical data and viewed the digital images on a 38 cm colour display monitor, at a resolution of 800x600 pixels, in 16-bit colour, using standard software. Three elderly inpatients with pressure sores or leg ulcers had both bedside and remote examinations, by different physicians. The diagnosis and therapeutic recommendations proposed after each of the two examinations were compared qualitatively. There was reasonable agreement between the two physicians in the assessment of wound size, anatomical classification, wound bed and status of infection. However, the lack of palpation represented a major limitation to remote wound assessment, despite the use of probes to delineate the depth of any opening in the wound bed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/17. The importance of the complete history in the discovery of a potential suicide: a case report.suicidal ideation and completed suicides are an increasing problem among the elderly. In 1992, the elderly accounted for 13% of the population but represented 20% of all completed suicides. There are recognized risk factors for suicides in elderly patients, which include depression, deteriorating physical health, and loss of independent functioning. A complete history enables the examiner to establish a relationship with the patient and to formulate a diagnosis. Unfortunately, histories are often incomplete. Many factors can account for this, including financial pressures, patient volume, and overspecialization. The physiatric history is the integration of many parts. It incorporates not only the physiatrist's evaluation but those of other disciplines as well, for example, physical and occupational therapy. The physiatric history is a sensitive tool for assessing the state of being of the whole patient. We describe a case in which a careful and complete physiatric history and physical examination revealed an elderly patient with suicidal ideation and a plan.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/17. Case study: traumatic pressure sore of the left lateral malleolus.JB, a 62 year old male, was facing potential amputation of his lower left leg following traumatic injury in the left malleolar area. Previous treatments over an approximate six week period had not improved the wound condition. A sodium chloride impregnated dressing, Mesalt Sterile sodium chloride Impregnated Dressing, was tried as a last resort prior to amputation of the lower leg. Three weeks of therapy with this dressing documented dramatic improvements in wound size, odor, amount of drainage, type of drainage, surrounding skin condition and appearance of the wound bed. The simplicity of the treatment regimen facilitated care of the wound by nursing home staff, home care personnel and JB's son. After 17 weeks of therapy, the wound was completely healed and amputation avoided.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/17. A new autologous venous valve by intimal flap. One case report.Various surgical techniques have been proposed for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency of post-thrombotic recanalized deep veins of the lower limbs. The preferable method seems to be represented by intravenous valvuloplasty except for the cases affected by extensive valvular damage. For this reason some experimental autologous, heterologous and prosthetic venous valves have been proposed. Such a problem emerged for 1 patient (male, aged 78 years, right limb, leg dystrophy, multiple ulcerations at the ankle) which was selected by duplex, Doppler venous pressure index, photoplethysmography and ascending phlebography. An iliac-femoral and popliteal post-thrombotic, recanalized, decompensated venous insufficiency and one Cockett's perforator incompetence were diagnosed (CEAP classification: C6s Es As2d14 Pr). A bicuspid apparently repairable popliteal valve was detected by phlebography. A traditional intravenous valvuloplasty was planned but the valve was not found at surgical exploration. A monocuspid valve reconstruction by intimal flap vein was performed. The following results were obtained and controlled after one year: stable ulceration healing, dystrophy reduction, improvement in the quality of life, normalization of the hemodynamic parameters and of the radiological morphology of the new valve. It can be concluded that monocuspid valvular repair by intimal flap can be successfully performed in cases affected by secondary valveless deep venous insufficiency of the lower limbs.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/17. Multi-layer compression: comparison of four different four-layer bandage systems applied to the leg.OBJECTIVE: To compare performance of four commercial four-layer bandage systems when applied to the leg. methods: Four experienced bandagers applied each system: [Profore Regular (Smith and Nephew); Ultra-Four (Robinson); System 4 (Seton) and K Four (Parema)] to the same leg. bandages were applied as single layers and as completed systems using standard techniques. For each application, 18 pressure measurements were taken using the Borgnis Medical Stocking Tester (MST) at three measuring points (ankle, gaiter and mid-calf) on medial and lateral aspects in three postures: (horizontal, standing and sitting). RESULTS: In all 2304 observations were made, 576 for each bandager, 576 for each bandaging system, 768 for each measuring point, 1152 for each aspect and 768 for each posture. The increase in pressure produced by each additional layer was 65-75% of the pressure of the same bandage when used as a single layer. There were significant differences in the final pressures achieved by the bandagers (means: 45-54 mmHg, p<0.001) and between bandage systems (means: System 4: 46 mmHg, Profore: 47 mmHg, K Four: 52 mmHg, Ultra-Four: 54 mmHg; p=0.005). The relationships between the final pressures achieved at each of the three measuring points, the three postures and the two aspects were not consistent among the bandage systems (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: When a bandage is applied as part of a multi-layered system it exerts approximately 70% of the pressure exerted when applied alone, thus challenging the commonly-held assumption that the final pressure achieved by a multi-layer bandaging system is the sum of the pressures exerted by each individual layer. Each of the four bandaging systems exerted different final pressures and gradients and different changes with posture change. These differences have important implications, which could influence the selection (or avoidance) of a particular bandage system according to a patient's condition and circumstances.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/17. Ulceration of pyoderma gangrenosum treated with negative pressure wound therapy.pyoderma gangrenosum is a skin disease characterized by wounds with blue-to-purple undermined borders surrounding purulent necrotic bases. This article reports on a patient with a circumferential, full-thickness, and partially necrotic lower-extremity ulceration of unknown etiology. Results of laboratory tests and arterial and venous imaging studies were found to be within normal limits. The diagnosis of pyoderma gangrenosum was made on the basis of the histologic appearance of the wound tissue after biopsy as a diagnosis of exclusion. Negative pressure wound therapy was undertaken, which saved the patient's leg from amputation. Although negative pressure wound therapy has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of chronic wounds in a variety of circumstances, this is the first documented use of this technique to treat an ulceration secondary to pyoderma gangrenosum.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/17. Healing an intractable wound using bio-electrical stimulation therapy.Clinicians involved in the conservative care of chronic wounds have many treatment interventions from which to choose, including debridement/irrigation, dressings, and pressure-relieving devices, to name a few. All are physical treatments that create an ideal wound healing environment. Unfortunately, many wounds heal very slowly, do not heal, or worsen. This situation relates to the woman in this case study who had a non-healing leg ulcer for 12 months. One of the interventions commonly used to treat chronic wounds is bio-electrical stimulation therapy (BEST) and the rationale for use of this method is based on the fact that the human body has an endogenous bioelectric system that enhances healing of bone fractures and soft-tissue wounds. When the body's endogenous bioelectric system fails and cannot contribute to wound repair processes, therapeutic levels of electrical current may be delivered into the wound tissue from an external source.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/17. Use of vacuum assisted closure therapy in the palliation of a malignant wound.Vaccum assisted closure (VAC) therapy is a novel method of wound healing using topical negative pressure across the wound bed and containing all exudate within a sealed system. We report the use of VAC therapy to control pain and exudate of a malignant wound.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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