Month: February 2022

Biofilm is thought to be present in all chronic wounds. Understanding what biofilm is and how to manage it is important to avoid delayed healing.
Biofilm … read more

This module aims to make clinicians aware of:

• The importance of skin health and what makes it vulnerable to damage.
• The damage that can occur when using medical adhesives and improper removal techniques.
• The impact that MARSIs (medical adhesive-related skin injuries) can have on patients.
• Ways to reduce the risk of MARSIs by providing appropriate treatment for at-risk patients groups.

… read more

Chronic wounds affect nearly 15% of Medicare patients (8.2 million people) and may cost as much as $96.8 billion per year. The most common are not venous or diabetic, even though they are the most often studied in prospective trials. The most common chronic wounds are surgical incisions that dehisce and the “wounds with no name” due to the patients’ underlying medical conditions. That is because wounds are not a disease – they are a symptom. The US Wound Registry (USWR), a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, has been a patient registry since 2005. Since 2014, the USWR has been recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) that collects medical and/ or clinical data for the purpose of improving the quality of patient care. While we understand that randomized, controlled trials are needed to demonstrate efficacy in a perfect world, real-world patients have an average of 6 serious co-morbid conditions and take 10 medications. These complicated patients are invariably excluded from clinical research studies, which makes it impossible to know what treatments work best. We believe the way to demonstrate effectiveness in the real world is by using real-world data … read more

A quick guide for registered managers of care homes

A healthcare professional should reassess a person’s pressure ulcer risk:

• after surgery or other investigation
• if they move to a different care setting
• if their underlying condition worsens
• after a change in their mobility.

If the person has several risk factors or a history of pressure ulcers, they should be assessed as being at high risk of developing a pressure ulcer. A trained healthcare professional should complete a skin assessment for anyone assessed as high risk … read more

An innocuous injury to his left little toe in late 2019 led to an infection that resulted in nine foot-related operations and five lower limb angioplasties in just over a year for Mr Toh Eng Cheng. His gangrenous toe had to be amputated, and another six later, to curb a recurrence of diabetic foot ulcers, but the 52-year-old counts himself lucky. “I could have lost the lower part of my leg or maybe the whole leg,” said the former security supervisor, who has three toes left on his right foot. “Of course, I did not like the idea of amputating my toes at first,” he told The Straits Times. “But if I didn’t accept it, then who knows, I might not be talking to you now,” he said. He added that he is glad he is still able to walk without the need for a walking frame or walking stick … read more

With the removal of government restrictions, telehealth codes are more usable and lucrative. CarePICS has taken advantage of these evolving rules to offer providers better wound care options … Do you ever wish a patient could send you a picture of their wound or rash AND you can bill for it? … read more

Foundations of Best Practice for Skin and Wound Management is a comprehensive document intended to help health-care professionals in the prevention and management of wounds … Developed by teams of interprofessional experts with a deep wealth of knowledge and experience, the chapters that make up Foundations have been built using a rigorous process of researching, writing and reviewing. Each chapter provides a best practice approach to the prevention and management of a particular wound type, except the first two, which offer a broad overview of skin physiology and wound healing and the prevention and management of wounds in general … order

A new study, “An Economic Evaluation of the Impact, Cost, and Medicare Policy Implications of Chronic Nonhealing Wounds,” published in the International Society For Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research’s Value in Health journal (Jan. 2018) demonstrates the economic impact and full burden of chronic nonhealing wounds in the Medicare population. The study analyzed the Medicare 5% Limited Data Set for CY2014 to determine the cost of chronic wound care for Medicare beneficiaries in aggregate, by wound type, and by setting. Topline findings show that chronic wounds impact nearly 15% of Medicare beneficiaries … read more

An Iranian knowledge-based company has produced advanced wound dressing products, with structures similar to human skins
Wound dressings are important because wounds and damaged tissues go through a relatively-complicated and time-consuming process to heal. And using low-quality products could lead to infection or scars on the skin after wounds heal.

The products manufactured by Teba Zist Polymer (Treetta) company, after eight years of research and development, use a host of technologies to ensure quick and seamless healing of wounds … read more

Novel lysin Abp013 has shown promising antimicrobial ability against Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae

Researchers from the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, alongside collaborators at Nanyang Technological University, have identified a novel phage lysin – Abp013 – that could be used as an alternative antimicrobial agent against two of the most deadly bacteria: Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The study is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore, under its Intra-CREATE Collaborative Seed Grant … Antimicrobial resistance remains an ever-growing threat to humankind, and an increasing number of people die each year from superbug infections. The development of new bacteria-killing agents is crucial, and lysins have shown great promise in treating deadly chronic wound and lung infections against which no antibiotics are effective … read more

Research project award is for the development of Nexobrid as a non-surgical solution for field care
YAVNE, Israel, February 17, 2022 — MediWound Ltd. (Nasdaq: MDWD), a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on next-generation bio therapeutic solutions for tissue repair and regeneration, today announced that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), through the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC), has awarded MediWound a $1.7 million research project for the development of NexoBrid® as a non-surgical solution for field-care burn treatment for the U.S. Army (the “MTEC Research Project Award”).

“We are privileged to join forces with the U.S. DoD, supporting its goals of improving treatment outcomes and saving lives of service members who suffer traumatic burn injuries in the battlefield,” said Sharon Malka, Chief Executive Officer of MediWound. “This non-dilutive funding provides important recognition of NexoBrid’s merits as a non-surgical, easy-to-use, effective solution for eschar removal of severe burns and highlights its potential role in treating severe burn injuries in the field as early as the point of injury. We thank the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) for the award and look forward to working with them to have NexoBrid available for military use by the U.S. Army.”

“The military services require simple and effective non-surgical solutions to treat severe burn patients as close to point of injury as possible. MTEC is excited to support MediWound’s effort to advance an effective non-surgical debriding solution for far forward burn treatment to benefit U.S. service members. This work could result in a transformational change to the current standard of care of burn injuries,” stated Lauren Palestrini, PhD, MTEC Director of Research Programs … read more

The Alliance submitted a letter requesting that Noridian revise it Wound and Ulcer Care LCD (L38904) and LCA (A58567) to ensure that that CPT and HCPCS code descriptors are correct and to update incorrect/outdated terminology within the policy. The Alliance submitted a detailed list of suggested revisions … read more (available to Alliance members only)

By reporting MIPS through the US Wound & Podiatry Registries, you provide data that builds predictive wound healing models that improve patient outcomes … read more

Adults with diabetic foot ulcers and peripheral artery disease who receive revascularization surgery are at no greater risk for amputation or death following endovascular surgery compared with open vascular surgery, according to findings published in the Journal of Diabetes and its Complications … “The present large cohort study showed in a propensity score-adjusted analysis that there was no difference in amputation-free survival in patients with diabetic foot ulcers and peripheral arterial disease regardless of whether endovascular or open vascular surgery was chosen as first-line vascular intervention,” Talha Butt, MD, of the department of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery at Skåne University Hospital in Sweden … read more

FDA Recognizes Products as Minimally Manipulated, Homologous Use HCT/Ps
Amnio Technology, a global leader in the development of and distribution of amniotic tissue allografts is announcing the launch of two new PalinGen® membrane products, PalinGen® Dual-Layer Membrane and Dual Layer PalinGen® X-Membrane. The new allografts, like the entire family of PalinGen® membrane products, are minimally manipulated, homologous use and chorion-free. The dual-layered nature of the allografts allow for unidirectional application with two outward facing epithelial sides. The proprietary Advantek® process used to manufacture PalinGen® membranes preserves the extracellular matrix components and regulatory proteins present in amniotic tissues. Preserving the characteristics of the natural tissue aids in wound management.

PalinGen® Dual-Layer Membrane and Dual Layer PalinGen® X-Membrane are indicated for patients suffering from non-healing acute and chronic wounds as well as complex and/or open surgical wounds and burns.

Senior Director of New Product Development, Robert Diller, PhD, shared his insight into the motivation for developing a multilayered amniotic product, “The PalinGen® Dual layer membranes have increased durability and slower resorption, which makes them ideal for use in robotic and other surgical applications” … read more

growth factor dressings in the healing rate of diabetic foot ulcer: A randomized clinical trial
In patients having diabetic foot ulcers, a better-improved healing results from dehydrated amnion dressing than platelet-derived growth factor dressing and surgical debridement … This is a multi-arm parallel-group randomized trial including 243 patients with a minimum 4-week medical history of diabetic foot ulcers with Wagner’s grades 1 and 2, no infection, and adequate tissue blood flow … They were randomized to one of three 81-person groups: surgical debridement (the standard method), dehydrated amnion dressing, or platelet-derived growth factor dressing; and were followed up for 12 weeks … Regarding the type of ulcer, the area of ulcer, Wagner’s grade, the period, and the ulcer’s size, all three study groups were comparable … read more

TissueTech, Inc.—a pioneer in the clinical application of cryopreserved human birth tissue products to treat ocular surface disease and disorders, chronic wounds, and musculoskeletal conditions—has unveiled a corporate rebranding, including a name change and a new logo. BioTissue, Inc. and Amniox Medical, Inc. will now both be known under a single commercial, customer facing entity, BioTissue, Inc. … With three decades of continual advancements in regenerative medicine, BioTissue has been a clear leader in the ocular space. By adopting the BioTissue name across the entire organization, the company will also reflect that innovative heritage and promise in its surgical business, which was previously known as Amniox Medical … “For years, health care professionals have known our products—regardless of their specific applications—for providing mother nature’s most natural gift of healing so their patients can get back to the lives they love,” said Ted Davis, president and CEO, BioTissue. “Our new, unified brand supports our entire pipeline of human birth tissue products to aid the treatment of wounds, musculoskeletal conditions, trauma-induced injuries, ocular surface disease, and burns.” … read more

A multidisciplinary team of medical professionals developed guidance for healthcare professionals outlining the importance of nutrition therapy to support wound healing for foot ulcers … The guidance provides expert consensus regarding how nutrition from arginine, glutamine, hydroxymethylbutyrate (HMB), and micronutrients can help improve wound-care therapy for people living with diabetes who are more likely to develop foot ulcers … read more

APMA works tirelessly to advocate for the podiatric medical profession. Over the past year, APMA has been successful in ensuring podiatrists receive equitable reimbursement, and patients have full access to care provided by podiatrists. Recent successes include:

HealthNet Federal Services (HNFS), the TRICARE administrator for the West Region, agreed to APMA’s previous request, and now permits podiatrists to order non-invasive vascular or arterial studies for TRICARE beneficiaries … read more

Compared to prior to the pandemic, fewer patients consulted their primary physician for changing wound dressings and more changed the dressings themselves or were assisted by their family members. 13% of patients avoided doctor visits due to fear of COVID-19 and 26.1% minimised doctor visits … The Dermatology Life Quality Index showed a moderate to very severe impact on patients’ Quality of Life (mean score = 10.06). Only one patient used telemedicine. Due to limited access to primary care and fear of COVID-19, the pandemic had a detectable impact on the hospital management of patients with HS in our facility. Telemedicine still plays a negligible role in primary wound care … read more

In November 2019, Alessandra Mascaro was observing a community of chimpanzees in the Loango National Park in Gabon as part of her volunteer service with the Ozouga Chimpanzee Project when she noticed some unusual behavior. A chimp named Suzee was inspecting a wound on the foot of her son, Sia. Suzee suddenly caught an insect from a nearby leaf, put it into her mouth for a moment, and then pressed it to Sia’s wound.

Mascaro caught the unusual interaction on video and forwarded it to two scientists on the project: Tobias Deschner, a primatologist with the Ozouga Chimpanzee Project, and Simone Pika, a cognitive biologist at Osnabrück University. The researchers thought the interaction could be suggestive of prosocial behavior among chimpanzees and the capacity for empathy—a question of heated debate in the field—and they spent the next 15 months looking for other examples of this type of wound-treating behavior … read more

Survival analyses of a large prospective cohort followed-up for 24-months
Researchers aimed at determining the factors that are independently linked with time-to-(being)-ulcer-free, time-varying effects and predict adjusted ulcer-free probabilities, in a large prospective cohort with diabetes-related foot ulcers (DFU) followed-up for 24 months … read more

It is a goal of the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses SocietyTM (WOCN®) to continuously improve the educational content of the Wound Treatment Associate (WTA®) and Ostomy Care Associate (OCA®) Programs as well as the resources available to all WOCN members. Additionally, it is a goal of WOCN to work at continuous improvement in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As such, we’d like to extend an invitation to our WOC nurse colleagues to submit photographs of wounds and ostomies, specifically representing individuals of diverse skin tone. We would also invite you to submit photos related to continence-related issues, also in diverse skin tones. A wide variety of photograph examples serve to improve the education of our members and other healthcare providers by ensuring competency in wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) assessment for all individuals. In this way, the care of all individuals with wound, ostomy, and continence care needs can be improved … read more

A Blinded Prospective Cohort Study
The current clinical standard for diagnosing deep-tissue pressure injury (DTPI) is visual inspection. This method is subjective and only presents to the observer the external “picture;” deeper tissues are disguised from the observer. In contrast, long-wave infrared thermography (LWIT) can capture an image of the area of concern and detect tissue temperature relative to the level of tissue perfusion … To determine the efficacy of a handheld LWIT device and software solution as an adjunct to the current clinical standard of visual skin assessment to detect nonvisual pathophysiologic changes of DTPI … read more

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are chronic wounds in the foot or feet associated with neuropathy and/or peripheral artery disease (PAD) of the lower limb in patients with diabetes mellitus. Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in the United States there are nearly one in four adults living with diabetes, which indicates that a large number of Americans are at risk of DFU. DFUs will develop in up to 34% of patients with diabetes at some time in in their lives, and of those, approximately 15%–25% will require an amputation. Moderate or severe malnutrition has been identified in over half of patients with DFU, and malnutrition in DFU is correlated with increased lower-extremity amputation. Improvements in wound care therapy, including nutrition interventions, can reduce the financial burden of DFUs and increase life expectancy and quality of life … read more

Wound infection has a significant impact on wound healing potential. When managing a wound, the first step is to determine if you are looking at an acute or chronic wound infection. Acute wound infection can be devastating and is often an underappreciated clinical condition that has been reported to increase the cost of care by up to 70%. Chronic wound infections are microbiologically, immunologically, and clinically distinct from acute wound infections and require a different treatment strategy … register

Chronic wounds are a global medical problem closely linked to diabetes. Every year, two per cent of the US population suffers chronic wounds, many resulting in amputation because they do not heal naturally and are typically infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Consequently, conventional treatment methods such as antibiotics are often not an option. However, start-up VulCur Medtech has now developed an automated laser solution writes the Technical University of Denmark in this press release … While competitors are focusing on surface treatment, VulCur MedTech’s treatment goes deeper, cleaning the wounds from the inside out using an automated laser device that kills bacteria while avoiding human cells … read more

The Summit will provide a critically needed multi-disciplinary meeting for payers, government agency policymakers, prominent researchers, wound care medical specialty societies, patient and clinical associations, wound care clinics and manufacturers to address the shared goals of:

• Addressing the current state of wound care research and clinical trial design
• Exploring solutions to address the limitations in the wound care evidence-base
• Communicating with payer medical directors on the development of coverage policies and the use of clinical practice guidelines in coverage decisionmaking
• Defining “next steps” to actualize solutions
• Participating in a uniquely intimate gathering of leading decisionmakers

… register

We will soon be relaunching the Wound Care Weekly newsletter to our list of 7,000 wound care and podiatry professionals. We are looking for sponsors to keep the lights on for WCW. In addition to the newsletter, sponsor exposure would include prominent website visibility (website gets close to 30,000 page views per month), Facebook header and sticky posts (FB page has 1,600 likes and followers) and LinkedIn posts (about 1,200 connections). I expect dramatic growth for web traffic from the newsletter based on activity from when it was previously active. Our latest media kit is below, let me know if you have any questions.
WCW-media_kit_2022.pdf
-Andy Durban

Contact Page

The Alliance spoke at the Dec. 1-2, 2021 HCPCS Public Meeting in support of the CMS HCPCS Workgroup’s preliminary coding decision to establish three new Level II HCPCS codes for non-pneumatic compression devices. “Including disparate devices into the same HCPCS code would severely limit the ability of CMS and other interested parties to collect data and assess the utilization, cost, efficacy and clinical outcomes of these new devices. Therefore, we are in agreement with the creation of three new K codes since it will allow CMS to establish appropriate product segmentation thereby avoiding issues related to data collection and analysis,” the Alliance told the Workgroup … read more

Healogics, the nation’s leading provider of advanced wound care services, as part of their 2022 Healing Can’t Wait program, is promoting awareness of heart health and its impact to wound healing through their seventh annual Heart Health Awareness campaign. Throughout Heart Health Awareness Month, Healogics will work to spread awareness about how cardiovascular diseases can affect the wound healing process.

An alarming 48 percent of Americans currently suffer from cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease can take many forms:

• Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
• Peripheral Artery Disease(PAD)
• Vascular Insufficiency Diseases

… read more

As part of a QCDR, the US Wound & Podiatry Registries serve many purposes:

Follow the natural history of a disease, estimate the magnitude of a problem, document the type of patients served, estimate complication rates, understand variations in outcomes, determine clinical effectiveness of treatments in the real world, understand cost-effectiveness, monitor safety, measure and improve clinical quality … read more

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) “Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes” includes the ADA’s current clinical practice recommendations and is intended to provide the components of diabetes care, general treatment goals and guidelines, and tools to evaluate quality of care. Members of the ADA Professional Practice Committee, a multidisciplinary expert committee (https://doi.org/10.2337/dc22-SPPC), are responsible for updating the Standards of Care annually, or more frequently as warranted. For a detailed description of ADA standards, statements, and reports, as well as the evidence-grading system for ADA’s clinical practice recommendations, please refer to the Standards of Care Introduction … read more

One of the journal’s initial goals was to keep our readers abreast of the latest developments and research in our specialty field.1 The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the greatest generational threat to “in-person” wound care and patient visits. We have been challenged with the need for social distancing, quarantines, lockdowns, and limited visitation to healthcare facilities. Healthcare professionals, patients, and providers have been forced to find viable alternative methods of care delivery … read more