Authors

  1. Gray, Mikel

Article Content

IN THIS ISSUE OF JWOCN

Routine turning and repositioning are well accepted and essential elements of pressure injury prevention, but the efficacy of incremental repositioning or weight shifts is less well known. Lee Ann Krapfl, Julia Langin, Caitlin Pike, and Patricia Pezzella authored this issue's Evidence-Based Report Card that evaluates the effectiveness of incremental repositioning for prevention of pressure injuries of the buttocks/sacral area. This article qualifies as must read for every WOC nurses interested in prevention of pressure injuries in critically ill patients.

 

Our knowledge of medical device-related pressure injuries (MDRPIs) is incomplete, and additional research is urgently needed to improve our knowledge of their epidemiology, pathophysiology, and prevention. Mary Arnold-Long, Melissa Ayer, and Kathleen Borchert report the prevalence of MDRPIs in 3 geographically diverse long-term and acute care hospitals in the United States. You will want to read this clinically relevant report of the prevalence and nature of MDRPIs in this growing health care setting. Andrea Pokorna, Klara Benesova, Jiri Jarkovsky, Jan Muzik, and Dimitri Beeckman report a national study of pressure injury occurrences in patients cared for in acute and chronic care facilities throughout the Czech Republic. You will want to read this article that draws on a nationwide electronic database to provide insights into present on admission and facility-acquired pressure injuries.

 

The influence of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) on pressure injury care has been documented in a number of studies. In this issue of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing (JWOCN), Mukesh Dwivedi, Amit Bhagat, Rajeshwar Srivastava, Amita Jain, Kavita Baghel, and Saloni Raj report findings from a randomized clinical trial that compared stage 3 and 4 pressure injury healing using wet to moist gauze to pressure injury healing using NPWT in a group of spinal cord-injured patients. This article qualified as must read for all wound care nurses not only for its use of a novel negative pressure therapy device but also for its evaluation of the effect of treatment on matrix metalloproteinase 8 levels.

 

This issue's Ostomy Care section opens with an article from Charu Taneja, Debra Netsch, Bonnie Sue Rolstad, Gary Inglese, Lois Lamerato, and Gerry Oster that describes the economic burden caused by peristomal skin complications in patients with ostomies. This article addresses a severely understudied area in WOC nursing; I predict it will leave you asking for more! JWOCN continues to serve as the platform for reporting research related to health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in persons with ostomies. Chie Furukawa and Ikuharu Morioka report findings from a study of the influence of sleep quality on HRQOL in persons with urostomies. This article qualifies as must read because it evaluates an underappreciated component of HRQOL in an understudied type of stoma, the urostomy.

 

Audrey Stokes, Shelly Tice, Suzi Follett, Diane Paskey, Lini Abraham, Cheryl Bealer, Holly Keister, Walter Koltun, and Frances Puleo present their study of the effect of a group preoperative teaching class on individuals scheduled for colorectal surgery and an ostomy. You will want to read this article to determine if you would like to incorporate this increasingly popular form for education and counseling into your practice.

 

This issue's Continence Care section opens with an enduring and complex issue, management of the long-term indwelling urinary catheter. Alyson Sweeney reports findings from a crossover comparison cohort trial that evaluated 2 methods for suprapubic catheter changes. You will want to read this clinically relevant clinical trial to identify the 2 methods for suprapubic catheter changes and to determine which method is most advantageous to your clinical practice.

 

Kathleen Francis, Sau Man Pang, Brenda Cohen, Helene Salter, and Peter Homel share results of their investigation of the effect of disposable versus reusable underpads for prevention of facility-acquired incontinence-associated dermatitis and pressure injuries in hospitalized adults. This article qualifies as must read not only because it provides essential knowledge about prevention of 2 familiar threats to skin care but also because it expands our evidence base in a woefully underappreciated component of WOC nursing practice, the science and optimal use of absorbent products.

 

Your Challenges in Practice section feature serves a variety of purposes; it acts as a platform for innovative clinical practices, a forum for presenting new approaches for solving persistent and complex problems in WOC specialty nursing practice, and the destination of choice for case studies of rare phenomenon of special interest to WOC nurses. In this issue of JWOCN, the authors present not 1 but 2 rarely seen phenomena impacting ostomy care. Mary Famorca, Debra Beauchaine, and Nancy Angulo present the case of a 33-year-old with calciphylaxis lesions affecting the peristomal skin; read on to find out more about this exceptionally rare presentation of calcific uremic arteriolopathy. Carlos Santacruz, Cristina del Arco, Miguel Herrera, Andres Sanchez-Pernaute, and Antonio Garcia describe a rare case of a squamous cell carcinoma of the peristomal skin of a long-standing gastrostomy and feeding device. This article also provides unique insights into a rare but potentially deadly complication of this increasingly common form of ostomy.

 

The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel's updated nomenclature and staging system has generated considerable discussion around how we conceptualize skin damage caused by prolonged exposure to pressure or pressure in combination with shearing forces.1 In our second e-pub-only version of the always popular Getting Ready for Certification from WOCNCB, Board Member Camillia Terrell discusses the implications of this important change for certification examinations, accompanied by 3 practice questions and answers with rationale.

 

REFERENCE

 

1. Edsberg LE, Black JM, Goldberg M, McNichol L, Moore L, Sieggreen M. Revised National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel staging system. J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs. 2016;43(6):585-597. [Context Link]