"This book is a user-friendly, real-world guide to assessing and managing any type of wound. The author presents vital information for nurses and nursing students who provide wound care in any setting...a wonderful resource for nurses."--The AORN Journal (Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses)

"Wound care is arguably the single most difficult topic in medicine. It has no defined solution like insulin for the diabetic...no easy strategy that covers all wounds...we are so tremendously blessed when [a wound care specialist] like Zelia carves out time to capture a career of experiences in text so that it can be shared with others. We are indebted to her for making this important contribution to the clinician's armament for dealing with [the] difficult-to-heal wounds of their patients."

Bruce Gibbins, PhD
Founder, Chief Technical Officer and Chairman of the Board of AcryMed, Inc.
Former faculty at the University of Otago Medical School

Using the concise, compact Fast Facts format, this guide encompasses the multitude of new healing technologies and presents important breakthroughs in understanding why some wounds don't heal. Each chapter builds, step-by-step, on the essential principles of wound care including wound assessment and documentation, the spectrum of wounds from simple to complex, wound treatment guidelines and protocols, and the legal aspects and regulations surrounding wound care. This user-friendly guide organizes the vast amount of information relating to wound care products and eases the complexity of wound management.

A "Fast Facts in a Nutshell" section in each chapter provides quick access to important wound care principles, and bullet-point information and tables enable readers to quickly locate relevant information. This guide will be a useful companion in the day-to-day care of wound patients, reinforcing knowledge needed in all practice settings, including acute care, critical care, long-term care, home care, operating room, and outpatient settings.

• Organizes and simplifies a vast amount of wound care information into a compact, user-friendly format
• Addresses wound care assessment, protocol, and treatment of the spectrum of wounds from simple to complex for all levels of practitioners
• Encompasses new healing technologies and information regarding difficult-to-heal wounds
• Presents comprehensive wound care algorithms, dressings, debridement procedures, ostomy care, optimal surface and equipment for wound patients, and adjunctive therapies

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Section I-Assessment, Measurement, and Documentation

1. Attacking the Basics: Know what Fuels a Wound and Understand the Outcome Goal
2. Understanding Wound Etiology
3. Assessing and Documenting Wounds
4. Debriding Wounds
5. Documenting and Photographing Wounds

Section II-Defining the Spectrum of Simple to Complex Wounds

6. Skin Injuries
7. Common Chronic Wounds
8. Complex Wounds
9. Recognizing Atypical Wounds

Section III-Wound Care Treatment and Protocols

10. Understanding Wound Care Guidelines and Protocols
11. Selecting the Correct Dressings for Optimal Wound Care
12. Using Adjunctive Therapies
13. Caring for Ostomies and Fistulas
14. The Promotion of Skin Care Integrity
15. Selecting Optimal Support Surfaces and Equipment for Patient Positioning

Section IV-Legal Aspects and Regulations

16. Qualifications and Certifications for Specializing in Wound Care
17. Awareness of Your Facility's Reputation: Certification and Accreditation
18. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Healthcare's Common Procedure Coding System: Guidelines and Reimbursement

Appendix: Description of Skin Lesions

Glossary

References and Additional Readings

Index "