Tackling Challenges in Wound Care by Embedding Wound Hygiene into a Proactive Wound Healing Strategy

Since a global panel of wound care experts published the first consensus document on wound hygiene in March 2020,¹ there has been a flurry of activity in support of this antibiofilm intervention strategy and an effective approach to the management of hard-to-heal wounds. In the 2 years since the publication of this consensus document, wound hygiene has gained its own identity, with increasing popularity among clinicians around the world. In the summer of 2021, the founders of wound hygiene convened again to discuss how to further embed the 4-step protocol into clinical practice. This meeting led to the publication of a second international consensus document titled, "Embedding Wound Hygiene Into a Proactive Wound Healing Strategy," thus illustrating the evolution and expansion from a wound-centric to a patient-centric approach.² The second international consensus document presents guidelines to support the concept that a hard-to-heal wound remains hard to heal until closure, along with the identification of a new tissue type, "unhealthy" granulation. This guideline encompasses a 3-phase holistic framework based on assessment, management, and monitoring, with a focus on how and when to implement wound hygiene on all tissue types in hard-to-heal wounds. In a rapidly changing world, where we may at times feel powerless to drive change, this program provides further guidance on propelling the use of wound hygiene toward challenging the global wound care crisis. References: 1. Murphy C, Atkin L, Swanson T, et al. International consensus document. Defying hard-to-heal wounds with an early antibiofilm intervention strategy: wound hygiene. J Wound Care 2020;29(suppl 3b):S1-28. 2. Murphy C, Atkin L, Vega de Ceniga M, Weir D, Swanson T. International consensus document. Embedding wound hygiene into a proactive wound healing strategy. J Wound Care. 2022;31(suppl 4a):S1-S19.

Presented by: Rachel Torkington-Stokes, MSc, BSc(Hons)






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