Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare inflammatory skin condition that is difficult to diagnose. Currently, it is a “diagnosis of exclusion.”1 Presentation of a patient with a red, hot, swollen foot, ankle or leg is not uncommon for the foot and ankle provider, however, misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis are common in cases of PG. In a retrospective study, 39 percent of patients who initially received a diagnosis of PG were ultimately found to have a prior alternate diagnosis … read more
Tag: Pyoderma Gangrenosum
Atypical Wounds: Causes and Management
Part 1 in a series discussing the etiology, assessment and management of atypical wounds.
As devoted clinicians to the field of wound management we take a responsibility to educate ourselves and others about wound etiologies and characteristics, as well as management of barriers to achieve positive outcomes. We spend a great deal of our careers learning about the most common offenders, such as pressure injuries, diabetic foot ulcers, venous stasis ulcers, arterial wounds, amputations, and traumatic wounds, to name a few. However, as our careers unfold we are faced with extra challenges, and atypical wounds are among them.
An atypical wound, also known as a wound of unknown etiology, is caused by a disease or condition that doesn’t cause a wound typically. Inflammatory diseases, infections, chronic illnesses, malignancies, or genetic disorders are examples of diseases that may result in the appearance of a wound. Atypical wounds can also arise from rare causes and usually share uncommon characteristics. In this two-part blog series, I discuss a few atypical wounds, to give you a view of this parallel universe … read more