Month: November 2018

There is a robust evidence base to support the use of compression therapy for healing venous leg ulceration and for preventing ulcer recurrence. The most recent version of the Cochrane Review on the effectiveness of compression and the relative effectiveness of different compression systems on venous leg ulcer healing included 48 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) reporting 59 comparisons. Although the methodological quality of the evidence is variable, there is overwhelming evidence that multi-layer high compression systems greatly increase the chances of healing compared to no compression. A more recent review and update of the evidence came to the same conclusion. Similarly, although there is very little evidence on the use of compression to prevent recurrence of venous ulcers, the overwhelming evidence of effectiveness for healing makes it highly likely that compression is also highly effective at preventing recurrence … read more

Israeli companies are tackling medical issues that are impacting people across the world, and diabetes is one of the key areas that these companies are tackling. Improved approaches, treatments and management are helping these companies transform diabetes across the world … A chronic disease of the pancreas, diabetes occurs when a person cannot make enough insulin to regulate their blood sugar … Betalin Therapeutics, a startup, is leading the way for diabetic treatment advancement. The company, still a relatively young company, has been able to cure type-1 diabetes in mice. And while the transition from mice to humans is drastically different, the company hopes that they’ll be able to one day cure humans of diabetes … read more

This Quick Guide outlines the use of IODOSORB as part of a biofilm-based wound care approach and provides helpful tips for it’s implementation in practice … download pdf

University of Toronto researchers have developed a handheld 3-D skin printer that deposits even layers of skin tissue to cover and heal deep wounds. The team believes it to be the first device that forms tissue in situ, depositing and setting in place, within two minutes or less … The research, led by Ph.D. student Navid Hakimi under the supervision of Associate Professor Axel Guenther of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, and in collaboration with Dr. Marc Jeschke, director of the Ross Tilley Burn Centre at Sunnybrook Hospital and professor of immunology at the Faculty of Medicine, was recently published in the journal Lab on a Chip … read more

     Coordination Chemistry for Wound Healing

 

Biomaterial‐based regenerative approaches would allow for cost‐effective off‐the‐shelf solution for the treatment of wounds. Hyaluronan (HA)‐based hydrogel is one attractive biomaterial candidate because it is involved in natural healing processes, including inflammation, granulation, and reepithelialization. Herein, dynamic metal–ligand coordination bonds are used to fabricate moldable supramolecular HA hydrogels with self‐healing properties. To achieve reversible crosslinking of HA chains, the biopolymer is modified with pendant bisphosphonate (BP) ligands using carbodiimide coupling and chemoselective “click” reactions. Hydrogel is formed immediately after simple addition of silver (Ag+) ions to the solution of HA containing BP groups (HA‐BP). Compared with previous HA‐based wound healing hydrogels, the HA‐BP·Ag+ hydrogel is highly suitable for clinical use as it can fill irregularly shaped wound defects without the need for premolding. The HA‐BP·Ag+ hydrogel shows antimicrobial properties to both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacterial strains, enabling prevention of infections in wound care. In vivo evaluation using a rat full‐thickness skin wound model shows significantly lower wound remaining rate and a thicker layer of regenerated epidermis as compared with the group left without treatment. The presented moldable and self‐healing supramolecular HA hydrogel with “ready‐to‐use” properties possesses a great potential for regenerative wound treatment … read more

The new Nexodyn AOS wound care solution, cleared for sale by the FDA, is now starting to be available in the USA, promoted and commercialized by the Italian pharmaceutical company Angelini, as a result of an exclusive partnership with the Swiss company APR Applied Pharma Research, the owner and developer of the proprietary, patented technology TEHCLO, for the production of acidic super-oxidizing solutions … Nexodyn helps cleanse and moisten the wound environment by removing dirt, debris and foreign material by flushing across the wound … Nexodyn is intended for use, under the supervision of healthcare professionals, to treat acute and chronic dermal lesions (such as leg ulcers, post-surgical wounds or 1st and 2nd degree burns) and minor cuts, burns, skin irritations and superficial abrasions … The solution, characterized by an acidic pH between 2 … 5 and 3 … 0, has cell viability preservation features, so as not to negatively interfere with the natural physiological healing process and epthelialization … Its antimicrobial preservative effectiveness has been demonstrated by in vitro testing … read more

     Diabetic Patients With a Foot Ulcer

 

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of foot exercises on wound healing in type 2 diabetic patients with a diabetic foot ulcer … Sixty-five patients from an outpatient clinic with grade 1 or 2 ulcers (Wagner classification) who met study criteria agreed to participate; 60 patients completed the study and were included in the final analysis … Subjects were followed up between February 2014 and June 2015 … Subjects were recruited by the researchers in the clinics where they received treatment … Subjects were randomly allocated to either the control or intervention group … Data were collected using investigator-developed forms: patient information form and the diabetic foot exercises log … Patients in the intervention group received standard wound care and performed daily foot exercises for 12 weeks; the control group received standard wound care but no exercises … The ulcers of the patients in both the intervention and control groups were examined and measured at the 4th, 8th, and 12th weeks … The groups were compared in terms of the ulcer size and depth … To analyze and compare the data, frequency distribution, mean (standard deviation), variance analysis, and the independent samples t test and the χ test were used … read more

Although we’ve already heard about hydrogels that help to heal chronic wounds, the University of New Hampshire’s Asst … Prof … Kyung Jae Jeong states that most of them have a shortcoming – they’re not porous enough … An inexpensive micro-hole-filled gel made by his team, however, is claimed to perform much better … The idea behind most hydrogels is that they get applied to “difficult” wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers, either being injected into them or put on as a dressing … The gels then create a form-fitting matrix across the surface of those injuries, promoting healing by keeping the wounds moist, preventing bacteria from entering them, and in some cases releasing medication … According to Jeong, though, cells from adjacent tissue often have difficulty growing through these relatively non-porous hydrogels and into the wound, resulting in a slow healing process … read more

Non-invasive, local treatment of digital ulcers with ozone for 20 days showed clinical effectiveness in systemic sclerosis patients, according to a new study …The study, “Non-invasive Oxygen-Ozone Therapy in Treating Digital Ulcers of Patients with Systemic Sclerosis,” was published in the journal Acta Reumatológica Portuguesa, and was conducted by researchers at Asyut University and Suez Canal University, in Egypt …Systemic sclerosis (SSc), or systemic scleroderma, is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects connective tissue (the tissue that supports and holds other tissues or organs together), and is characterized by excessive production of collagen protein, leading to fibrosis of the skin and internal organs …Excessive collagen deposition can also narrow small blood vessels in the fingers and toes, resulting in Raynaud’s phenomenon … read more

In this table, we cover the basics of wound care, such as reducing bioburden, reducing edema and maintaining a moist wound environment. This information was gathered from a 2014 article from the journal, Plastic Surgical Nursing, in which Marcia Spear, DNP, ACNP-BC, CWS, CPSN, addressed the “Principles of Wound Care – Back to Basics.” … view pdf

Researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a new approach to diagnosing and monitoring chronic skin wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers and pressure wounds … Chronic skin wounds affect more than 150 million people worldwide and cost approximately $25 billion in health care annually in the United States alone. These non-healing wounds are characterized by inflamed tissue, poor blood circulation, callus formation or infection … Current clinical approaches for diagnosing and monitoring these wounds do not provide critical diagnostic information about how they develop or why they do not heal … read more

Wound healing is impaired in both psoriasis and multiple sclerosis, raising the prospect that a better understanding of the process could improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of these two chronic conditions and generate targets for treating them … The two conditions share a number of characteristics … For example, both diseases demonstrate slight itching, symmetry of the lesions, exacerbation after stopping corticosteroid treatment, and the Koebner phenomenon – provocation of the condition by stress … The Koebner phenomenon (isomorphic response) was first described in 1876 by the German dermatologist Heinrich Koebner who noted that patients developed psoriasis at sites of excoriations, horse bites, and tattoos … Koebner famously saw a psoriatic plaque develop on the skin of a farmer where his horse … read more

You may wonder, “What in the world does this man know about type 2 diabetes (T2D) and toe injuries?” Well, I have had a very lengthy and lived experience with T2D. I was diagnosed 19 years ago, and I was very likely one of the worst patients with T2D ever.

 

How did I get here? How did it come to this? What is this? This is a problem with my feet that I will battle with for the rest of my life. This is an ongoing wound on my left large toe that a dear friend and I caused nearly 9 years ago that has never completely healed and now causes me to visit the diabetic foot clinic at the local hospital every 2–3 months.

 

Nearly 8.5 years ago, I did not know that this clinic even existed. I learned this fact, literally, by accident. Actually, it wasn’t an accident; I learned through what some might consider performing a really stupid act … read more

APMA celebrated another major advocacy win today as CMS released the 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule. The final rule did not include the originally proposed podiatry-specific E/M codes, which would have reimbursed at a significantly lower rate than codes for the same care provided by other physicians … APMA extends its sincere gratitude to the thousands of members, colleagues, patients, family, and friends who joined APMA’s grassroots campaign and submitted comments to CMS about this punitive proposal. We also thank our allies at other medical societies and in the halls of Congress, who strongly opposed the proposed rule.“Today we saw proof that when APMA members work together … toward a common goal, we can do great things,” said APMA President Dennis R. Frisch, DPM …. read more

DIABETES mellitus is the fifth leading cause of death in The Bahamas, according to Health Minister Dr Duane Sands …The Bahamas Podiatric Medical Association underscored the devastating impact of diabetes on feet during a conference at the University of the Bahamas yesterday …“Foot complications are the source of major patient suffering, high emotion and financial costs to the individual and health care system,” Dr Sands told the conference …“We have seen the prevalence of diabetes increase from 6.7% to 9.2% in 2005 now to epidemic proportions of 13.6% in 2017. 37.9 deaths per 100,000 persons are due to diabetes …Dr Sands continued: “Foot ulcers are the most prevalent problem, with a yearly incidence of around 2 – 4% and a lifetime incidence between 15 and 25%. The most important factors underlying the development of foot ulcers are peripheral sensory neuropathy, foot deformities related to motor neuropathy, minor foot trauma, and peripheral artery disease … “Once the skin is ulcerated, it is susceptible to becoming infected, an urgent medical problem that can result in amputation or even death … read more

A specific class of diabetes medication appears to double the risk of losing a leg or foot to amputation, a new study reports … People on sodium-glucose cotransporter2 (SGLT2) inhibitors were twice as likely to require a lower limb amputation as people taking another type of diabetes medication, Scandinavian researchers found … Patients also had a doubled risk of diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening complication in which acids called ketones build up in the bloodstream … “Patients at high risk of amputation, for example those with peripheral artery disease or foot ulcers, might be monitored more closely if SGLT2 inhibitors are used, and the risk of this adverse event may be considered when deciding on which drugs to use,” said lead researcher Dr. Peter Ueda, a postdoctoral researcher with Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden … read more

Developed at Indiana’s Purdue University, the prototype two-layered insole is made of polydimethylsiloxane, which is a type of silicone. Its bottom layer is actually a chamber that contains oxygen gas, while the top layer is laser-ablated to be particularly oxygen-permeable right at the point where the ulcer is located … The idea is that as the wearer walks throughout the day, placing pressure upon the insole, oxygen is continuously forced out of the bottom layer, up through the top layer and into the oxygen-deprived tissue of the ulcer – there, it helps accelerate healing. Even when they’re sitting, the patient’s foot will still exert enough pressure to deliver some oxygen to the wound … read more

Valid and reproducible sampling techniques as well as processing protocols are required for the assessment of biomarkers and mediators contained in wound exudate. Moreover, the ideal technique should be easy to use even in daily clinical routine. This is challenging since wound fluid represents an inhomogeneous mixture of different exogenous and endogenous sources. Analyzing wound fluid, however, may facilitate clinical decision making. Many techniques for obtaining wound fluid have been described. There is very little validation data, and the array of different techniques appears confusing. Structuring and new standards are needed to avoid wound fluid sampling yielding an “undefined soup.” A lot of wound fluid parameters have been analyzed, although none of them have made its way into clinical practice. Nevertheless, basic principles of wound healing have been established from wound fluid analysis. With adequate techniques suitable for daily practice, basic research might foster our clinical understanding of wound healing with implications for new therapies. So far, research has mainly concentrated on analyzing available sample material with respect to … read more

Protease modulating therapies are used to assist in venous leg ulcer closure. However, a recent systematic review of the evidence¹ suggests a need to question the biomarker’s importance and further role in the future of targeted chronic wound healing therapies … Earlier research reported in the literature has suggested that reducing protease levels can improve venous leg ulcer healing beyond the use of first-line treatments, such as compression, according to Maggie Westby, Ph.D., research fellow in the School of Health Sciences at the University
of Manchester, UK … read more

Diabetic foot ulcers can take up to 150 days to heal. A biomedical engineering team wants to reduce it to 21 days … They’re planning to drop the healing time by amplifying what the body already does naturally: build layers of new tissue pumped up by nitric oxide. In patients with diabetes, impaired nitric oxide production lessens the healing power of skin cells and the Centers for Disease Control reports that 15 percent of Americans living with type II diabetes struggle with hard-to-heal foot ulcers. However, simply pumping up nitric oxide is not necessarily better. The long-term plan of Michigan Technological University …. read more

Leg ulcers can be caused by vasculitis, pressure sores, inflammatory diseases, traumatic injuries and cutaneous neoplasms―which are often misdiagnosed as skin ulcers, write Lidia Sacchelli and colleagues in the September 19 online issue of the Journal Dermatopathology … “We believe that clinicians should be aware of the importance of an early and correct diagnosis of cutaneous neoplasms underlying chronic leg ulcers. This could avoid diagnostic delay and guarantee the best therapeutic approach to each patient,” they wrote … Lesions that grow, spread or are pigmented may require a biopsy and histologic study … read more

     in diabetes: A national observational study

 

Diabetic foot ulcers and amputations are devastating and much feared complications of diabetes. Between 15% and 34% of people with diabetes develop a foot ulcer during their lifetime, with more than half acquiring infections that may result in lower extremity amputations causing disability, extensive periods of hospitalisation, and premature mortality. The incidence of major amputation ranges from 0·2 to 2·0 per 1000 people in those with diabetes. Major or minor amputation also increases the risk of additional subsequent amputations. Foot ulcers are the costliest microvascular complication of diabetes … Amputations in people with diabetes have a significant impact on ambulation, body care, movement and mobility, resulting in an inability to perform daily tasks and often a loss of employment impacting on the wider family. Clinical epidemiology studies suggest that foot ulcers precede around 85% of non-traumatic lower extremity amputations in individuals with diabetes [8] and hence ulcer prevention is important. Previous studies have reported that apart from severity of ulcer, age [9], low socioeconomic status, smoking, sex, renal impairment, ischaemic heart disease, diabetic neuropathy, glucose levels and peripheral arterial disease are some of the important factors associated with the risk of amputation. Identifying a person’s risk of foot ulceration helps in directing scarce resources to those most at need. Assessment of individual risk factors … read more

A new screening tool developed by St. Joseph’s Health Care London could reduce the number of diabetes-related amputations across the region … The primary care diabetes support program (PCDSP) at St. Joseph’s partnered with the South West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) to come up with a standardized screening, assessment and referral tool for family doctors. The tool helps to identify red flags in patients that could lead to devastating foot ulcers … “The end game is early identification and effective intervention of those at risk of diabetes-related foot ulcers,” said Betty Harvey, a nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist with the PCDSP. “Once a person has a foot ulcer … read more

     of chronic wounds: the EUREKA trial

 

Fluorescence biomodulation (FB), a form of photobiomodulation (PBM) that is also known as low energy level light (LELL), has become an increasingly used clinical tool to induce wound healing in wounds that remain recalcitrant to treatment. In a real-life clinical setting, the aim of the EUREKA (EvalUation of Real-lifE use of Klox biophotonic system in chronic wound mAnagement) study was to confirm the efficacy and safety of LumiHeal, a system based on FB, in the treatment of chronic wounds such as venous leg ulcers (VLUs), diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and pressure ulcers (PUs). The effects of this FB system on the modulation of wound healing in chronic ulcers through FB induction were previously examined in an interim analysis of this study … read more

Healogics®, the nation’s leading provider of advanced chronic wound care services, today unveiled their Patient Engagement program. Through this program, patients will receive text message reminders for their appointments as well as links to educational videos, relevant articles and instructions related to wound and ostomy care … “Wound care as a specialty relies heavily on patients’ willingness and ability to adhere to their prescribed plan of care,” says Dr. William Ennis, DO, MBA, MMM, Healogics Chief Medical Officer. “By engaging patients where they are, and encouraging appointment attendance, the Patient Engagement program has reduced appointment cancellations supporting care plan adherence.” … The new program has two-way engagement, meaning Healogics team members can see patients’ responses in real time. If a patient has to cancel, a team member will proactively call the patient to reschedule the appointment to avoid any delays in care. During the program’s pilot, Healogics saw an eight percent reduction in appointment cancellations, which means eight percent more people received the life-changing care … read more

    Healthcare Professionals Searchable Access to Clinical Studies and Silverlon Products by Specialty

 

Argentum Medical, LLC and Cura Surgical launched its new website for its Silverlon® antimicrobial wound care technology (https://www.silverlon.com). The robust website gives surgeons and other healthcare professionals — both in civilian and in military settings — convenient access to the science and clinical research supporting the most evidence-based silver-based dressings available today.

 

Users of the new Silverlon website can quickly find Silverlon wound care products by specialty, including surgical, wound care, burn, catheter and negative pressure contact dressings. The site includes educational videos to explain the antimicrobial advantage of silver ions as well as instructional videos on the proper use of Silverlon dressings in a number of clinical settings.

 

The website also features a searchable index of independent, peer-reviewed, clinical studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of Silverlon technology across multiple specialties including surgical, venous catheter, wound and burn care. Recent clinical studies include research conducted by the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the University of South Florida/Tampa General Hospital’s central line catheter-related infection (CLABSI) study published in the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine.

“Our new website is designed to give surgeons and other medical professionals an efficient resource to explore the science and robust body of clinical research supporting the advantages of Silverlon dressings as part of a comprehensive infection prevention bundle,” said Raul Brizuela, president and CEO of Cura Surgical and Argentum Medical … read more

     in diabetes: a national observational study

 

     in the UK, Denmark, and Sweden: An observer-masked, randomised controlled trial

 

The LeucoPatch device uses bedside centrifugation without additional reagents to generate a disc comprising autologous leucocytes, platelets, and fibrin, which is applied to the surface of the wound. We aimed to test the effectiveness of LeucoPatch on the healing of hard-to-heal foot ulcers in people with diabetes … This was a multicentre, international, observer-masked, randomised controlled trial of people with diabetes and a hard-to-heal foot ulcer done in 32 specialist diabetic foot clinics in three countries (UK, Denmark, and Sweden). After a 4-week run-in period, those with a reduction in ulcer area of less than 50% were randomly allocated (1:1) by computer-generated, web-based randomisation … read more

 

Read the full article on The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology

MARIETTA, Ga. /PRNewswire/ —MiMedx (NASDAQ: MDXG), a leading developer and marketer of regenerative and therapeutic biologics, today announced that five poster abstracts reporting on the Company’s EpiFix® dehydrated Human Amnion/Chorion Membrane (dHACM) allograft and EpiCord® dehydrated human umbilical cord (dHUC) allograft will be presented at the Desert Foot 15th Annual Multi-Disciplinary Limb Salvage Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The conference begins Wednesday, November 7, 2018, and concludes on Saturday, November 10, 2018.

 

MiMedx will sponsor a symposium entitled, “Clinical Efficacy of EpiFix and AmnioFix dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane allografts in Surgical and Wound Care Applications” on Wednesday, November 7^th in the Phoenix Ballroom main lecture hall. The symposium faculty and presenters include Ray Ortega, MD, MiMedx Medical Director, and Jeremy Lim, PhD, Senior R&D Engineer at MiMedx.

 

Dr. Ortega, a former Army Special Forces Officer (Green Beret) and Medical Corps plastic surgeon, will review two recent EpiFix and EpiCord multicenter DFU randomized control trial (RCTs) studies … read more

Diabetic Foot Australia (DFA) was established in 2015 with the goal of ending avoidable amputations within a generation in Australia. As a key initiative of the Wound Management Innovation CRC, we engaged the expertise of multiple partner organisations across Australia to create a national diabetes-related foot disease (DFD) body for Australia. On the 1st July 2018, Diabetic Foot Australia joined the Australian Diabetes Society’s (ADS) stable of national diabetes clinical and research programs …. download Australian Diabetes-Related Foot Disease Strategy (PDF)

EDISON, N.J., Nov. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — MTF Biologics, the world’s largest tissue bank, and Academy Medical, a certified Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that specializes in providing medical products, tissues and devices to government agencies, have joined forces to bring advanced human allograft tissues to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) medical centers across the country. MTF Biologics has joined Academy Medical’s supplier network, ensuring that MTF Biologics’ portfolio of tissue innovations, used to treat a variety of acute and chronic wounds, orthopedic conditions, and plastic and reconstructive surgery needs, are available to healthcare providers serving veterans at VA facilities.

 

As a result of this partnership with Academy Medical, MTF Biologics tissues have been added to Academy Medical’s Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) Biologics and Biological Implants Contract and their National Acquisition Center (NAC) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Together, Academy Medical and MTF Biologics now offer the broadest portfolio of bone, dermis, placenta and other tissues to address the needs of our veterans and military personnel.

 

“Academy Medical has a great track record of connecting government healthcare providers with medical innovations,” said Thomas Shaffer, Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing at MTF Biologics.  “We are excited to partner with the Academy Medical team to bring innovations in tissue transplantation to our nation’s veterans. Our organizations share a commitment to ensuring that physicians have access to the medical advances, tools and technologies they need to meet the needs of their patients. This partnership achieves this commitment while also furthering MTF Biologics’ Mission of saving and healing lives.” … read more

Mӧlnlycke® will launch Mepilex® Border Flex at the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care Fall meeting (SAWC Fall) 2-4 November in Las Vegas. The new Mepilex® Border Flex dressing was specifically engineered to support fewer dressing changes, reducing dressing costs and waste, while creating an optimal healing environment.

 

‘We believe that the Mepilex Border Flex dressing may change the way wound care experts practice because its features effectively support undisturbed wound healing,’ says Randy Schwartz, Vice President of Marketing. ‘Less frequent dressing changes benefit the patient, caregiver and the wound healing process. The product’s unique structure enhances conformability and its exudate management properties and allows it to remain in place for longer wear times. These features will positively impact cost.‘

 

Mӧlnlycke will feature the dressing in its booth and is sponsoring a complimentary breakfast symposium at the Fall SAWC conference, ‘Novel Technology for Advanced Wound Dressings: Early Clinical Experience.’ The session will examine the role of dressing conformability and exudate management in supporting undisturbed healing of acute and chronic wounds. The presenters will also share their experience with the new dressing and examine its impact on clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and cost savings.

 

Renowned wound care expert Robert Kirsner, MD, PhD will lead the symposium which features Oscar Alvarez, PhD and Deborah Nelson RN, BSN, CWOCN who will discuss their clinical experience with the product. The symposium will take place on Sunday, 4 November at 7:30 AM – 9:00 AM … read more

     Resource Center and Highlights Latest Wound Care Research at SAWC Fall 2018

 

CANTON, Mass. and LAS VEGAS, Nov. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Organogenesis Inc., a leading regenerative medicine company committed to empowering healing, will celebrate the launch of the Advancing Healing Education Resource Center, a continuing medical education microsite covering the latest clinical and practical developments in wound healing, as well as showcase the company’s latest product research during the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Fall 2018 meeting held this week in Las Vegas.

 

Made possible through an educational grant from Organogenesis to the North American Center for Continuing Medical Education (NACCME), the Advancing Healing Education Resource Center will feature accredited educational activities designed to improve the care of patients with repair and regenerative needs across the continuum of care. Topics will include healing of musculoskeletal injuries, including degenerative conditions, and the treatment of chronic and acute wounds … read more

MARIETTA, Ga., Oct. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — MiMedx Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDXG), a leading developer and marketer of regenerative and therapeutic biologics, today announced that five poster abstracts highlighting studies on the Company’s EpiFix® dehydrated Human Amnion/Chorion Membrane (dHACM) allograft and EpiCord® dehydrated human umbilical cord (dHUC) allograft will be presented at the 2018 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care Fall (SAWC Fall) at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The SAWC, now in its 31^st year, is the official meeting for members of The Association for the Advancement of Wound Care and the leading national wound healing conference.

 

The conference begins Friday, November 2^nd and concludes on Sunday, November 4^th. MiMedx will be exhibiting in booth #207 during all booth times throughout the three-day meeting.

 

MiMedx will also sponsor a Breakfast Symposium entitled, “PURION® Processed Placental Based Allografts – The Use of Bioactive Tissue Matrices in the Treatment of Wounds,” on Friday, November 2^nd, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. The presenters during the breakfast symposium will include:

 

• Michelle Massee, Manager of Biomedical Research, MiMedx
• William Tettelbach, MD, Associate Chief Medical Officer, MiMedx
• James Stavosky, DPM

read more

     Combining 17 Years of Clinical Data With AI and 3D Imaging to Improve Patient Outcomes

 

BALTIMORE, Oct. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Wound Care Advantage, a leading provider of management and consulting services for outpatient wound care and hyperbaric medicine programs, today announced a partnership with Tissue Analytics, the world’s leading mobile imaging and artificial intelligence (AI) platform for wound management. The partnership allows for WCA to leverage its clinical expertise and 17 years of clinical data with Tissue Analytics’ imaging and AI to improve the accuracy of measurement during wound assessments and provide better insights into the efficacy of wound treatments to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs … Chronic wounds affect about 6.5 million people in the U.S., many stemming from diabetes and/or vascular insufficiency. These wounds have a slow healing process and require frequent monitoring and measurement of progress by a specialized wound care team. Research has shown that automatic smartphone measurements help to eliminate the high degree of interrater and intrarater reliability often encountered when using a traditional ruler … read more

     and chronic wounds

 

Healogics®, the nation’s wound healing expert, is proud to participate in a national diabetes awareness campaign October 29 through November 2. This campaign will highlight the important connection between diabetes and chronic wounds and their recurrence. Throughout this week, Wound Care Centers® from across the country will dedicate their time to visiting local physician offices to provide education on the treatment of potential or existing chronic wounds for people also living with diabetes … An estimated 30.3 million people in the United States have diabetes, and the percentage of adults with diabetes increases with age, reaching a high of 25.2 percent among those aged 65 years or older. In addition to age, risk factors for diabetes also include diet, activity level, obesity and heredity. Approximately one in four people living with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer. Even more alarmingly, people with healed a diabetic foot ulcer have a recurrence rate of nearly 40 percent within the first year … read more

Here’s a story about a foot ulcer and it’s tragic result in a diabetic with several other health problems. This is an attempt to inform people with diabetes about the vital necessity of foot inspection and care. It goes like this … Someone familiar, who will be Uncle Al for this yarn, had his left foot and lower leg amputated because of a diabetic foot ulcer he didn’t even know he had, because he never looked. Uncle Al has been a very happy fellow throughout his life. He had known he has diabetes for quite a while. He also has had a heart attack, and more lately congestive heart failure of controllable nature — if he watches it … read more

     short-term survival in people with diabetic foot ulcers (study)

 

Ankle-brachial index (ABI) is the most commonly used test when diagnosing peripheral vascular disease and is considered a marker for cardiovascular risk. Transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO₂), a test associated with microvascular function, has in several studies shown better correlation with diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) healing. Whether a low TcPO₂ could be a marker for mortality in the high-risk population of DFU patients has not been evaluated before. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of TcPO₂ in comparison with ABI and toe blood pressure (TBP) on 1-year mortality in type 2 diabetes patients with DFU …. read more

Diabetic foot complications are the most common occurring problems throughout the globe, resulting in devastating economic crises for the patients, families and society. Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) have a neuropathic origin with a progressive prevalence rate in developing countries compared with developed countries among diabetes mellitus patients. Diabetic patients that are of greatest risk of ulcers may easily be diagnosed with foot examination. Economic burden may be carefully examined. The budget costing must include both the clinical and social impact of the patients … Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder imparting loss in health and economic burden on patients and healthcare machinery around the globe. As the present world is facing an epidemic of both type 1 and type 2 DM, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has focused on the micro and macrovascular complications associated with DM. In 2005, the IDF committed to execute the management approach for diabetic foot diseases. The risk for developing foot ulcers is 25% high in patients with diabetes and it is also reported that every 30 seconds, one lower limb amputation in diabetes patients occurred around the world. The IDF has now become proactive and declared in its mandate that now is the time to increase awareness about the foot complications associated with DM in scenarios of social, personal, clinical and economic costs … read more

There are some surprising statistics about how common diabetic foot ulcers are, how often they can lead to amputation and the ultimate cost of having a foot ulcer that results in an amputation …. read more

October 25, 2018–(BRONX, NY)–By incorporating a gene-suppressing drug into an over-the-counter gel, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and their colleagues cut healing time by half and significantly improved healing outcomes compared to control treatments. Results from the combination therapy, which was tested in mice, were published online today in Advances in Wound Care …”Not only did wound healing occur more rapidly and completely, but actual regeneration occurred, with hair follicles and the skin’s supportive collagen network restored in wounded skin–clinically important improvements that are unprecedented in wound care,” says senior author David J. Sharp, Ph.D, professor of physiology & biophysics at Einstein. “We foresee this therapy having broad application for all sorts of wounds … read more

     closure combined with photon therapy for management of diabetic foot ulcers

 

Background: Diabetes mellitus, one of the most prevalent chronic metabolic diseases, causes many complications. Among the complications, one of the most common chronic complications is diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs).
Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of negative pressure wound therapy using vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) combined with photon therapy for the management of DFUs … Patients and methods: The study included a total of 69 patients with DFUs during the period from January 2014 to December 2015. All patients were diagnosed with DFUs with Wagner’s stage 2 or 3 and were divided into two groups – the VAC group in which patients received only VAC and the combined group in which patients received both VAC and photon therapy. Data on duration of the treatment, pre- and postoperative wound surface areas, dressing changing times, pain conditions assessed using visual analog scale scores, recurrence rate and amputation rate were collected … Results: Among all patients, 35 patients were divided into the VAC group and 34 patients into the  …. read more

     and Prevent Diabetic Foot Ulcers

 

More than 100 million adults in the United States live with diabetes or prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people know that common complications of the disease include increased thirst, weight loss and fatigue … But fewer may know about another side effect: diabetic foot ulcers, which affect nearly 25 percent of individuals and are one of the disease’s most prevalent complications. Patients with ulcers can’t put weight on the affected area in order to facilitate healing (and avoid infection) … Still, those ulcers are responsible for about 80,000 nontraumatic amputations nationwide each year — surgery that comes with a five-year mortality rate of up to 40 percent … read more

     to Dispense Wound Care Supplies

 

Hippocratic Solutions, an outsourced podiatry billing firm, has announced a partnership with iRemedy, a leading ecommerce medical supplies provider. The partnership will allow podiatrists to prescribe, bill for, and dispense advanced wound care supplies through their DME license … iRemedy, an industry leader in ecommerce medical supplies and medical business consulting, has recently partnered with Hippocratic Solutions … “Integrating iRemedy with Hippocratic Solutions is a real breakthrough that is going to take our Advanced Wound Care Program to the next level,” said Tony Paquin, CEO of iRemedy Healthcare. “We’re excited to work with Peter Koukounasand the Hippocratic Solutions team.” … Alongside outsourced podiatry billing services, Hippocratic Solutions clients will now have instant online access to iRemedy’s online platform with the ability to submit and manage prescriptions for their patients with chronic wounds. Podiatrists will be able to file and bill for wound care prescriptions directly through iRemedy, who will audit the prescription for the podiatrist and handle insurance preauthorization and any insurance denials …”Most podiatrists don’t think they can dispense and profit from wound care supplies through their license, but this just isn’t true,” said Peter Koukounas, CEO of Hippocratic Solutions. “By partnering with iRemedy, we’re helping podiatrists earn greater profits while drastically improving patient outcomes.”

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