Quick Reference to Wound Care.

Quick Reference to Wound Care

Brown P, Maloy JP, Oddo D. Gaithersburg, MD 20878, Aspen Publishers Inc, 2001, paperback, 271 pp, illus, ISBN: 0-8342-1665-5, $49.

The goal of the authors, who are enterostomal therapists, was to provide current wound care information for health care professionals in a practical and easily accessible guide. This text fulfills their goal successfully, providing clear and detailed information on wound assessment, wound types, and wound management. The text is enhanced by many charts, tables, and photographs, including 27 color plates. Practical tips are scattered throughout the text in shaded boxes. There are also many patient guides and home health case studies.

Part I, "Assessment and Documentation," has 2 relatively brief chapters that provide clear definitions of wound characteristics and sample documentation tools. Part II, "Basics of Wound Management," contains chapters on the normal healing process, basics of wound management, and topical treatments. The chapter on wound management addresses risk factors, systemic support, infections, and guidelines for wound cleansing and dressings. A chapter on topical treatments covers 12 topical treatment categories including growth factors and biosynthetics. Newer products such as Accuzyme and Regranex are included as examples, and there are tips for the use of specific products. Appendixes at the end of this chapter list resources for products and a patient guide for applying enzymatic debriders.

Part III, "Wound Types Commonly Seen by Health Care Professionals," covers 8 wound types, including lower leg ulcers with mixed disease, skin tears, and surgical wounds and radiation burns. Each wound type is addressed with assessment criteria, treatment objectives, treatment options, and patient education goals. The final section, part IV, "Issues Specific to Home Health and Skilled Nursing Facilities," addresses documentation and compliance issues specific to these settings.

Appendixes follow many chapters, and an appendix at the end of the text compares venous, arterial, and neuropathic ulcers. The extensive glossary includes clear definitions of many wound terms. This text, however, could be even more accessible if the tables, appendixes, and patient guides were not scattered throughout the text, or if there was more separation between the text and the supplemental material.

Physical therapy modalities such as electrical stimulation and pulsed lavage are only briefly mentioned, which maintains the focus of the text on basic wound management techniques for a variety of treatment settings. Although this is an excellent reference for clinicians who routinely treat patients with wounds, this text is especially relevant for health care professionals in home health or skilled nursing facilities where wound care resources are limited. It is also an excellent reference for clinicians who routinely treat patients with wounds, and I strongly recommend this book for these clinicians.

Elizabeth B Green, PT, MS
Presbyterian Healthcare
Charlotte, NC

Ms Green is Clinical Manager of Rehabilitation at an acute care hospital and a skilled nursing facility. Her clinical interest is wound care.