Background: Parafricta bootees are made of low friction material intended to prevent heel pressure ulcers (PU).

Aims: To compare, in hospitalised patients, whether the bootees, added to standard care (SC), prevent heel PU compared with SC alone.

Methods: Patients with Waterlow score ≥20 and no heel PUs at baseline were randomly allocated to either bootees plus SC, or SC alone. Target sample size was 450 patients. Patients’ heels were clinically assessed for heel PUs at day 3 and day 14. 

Results: Slow recruitment stopped the study early. In 31 recruited patients there were zero incident heel PUs (intervention group, 0%) versus 1 (SC group, 6%) at day 3 and no new heel pressure ulcers at Day 14.

Conclusion: This study failed to reach sufficient statistical power to assess the efficacy of the bootees in preventing heel PUs. No adverse events were related to the bootees. Only 1 patient in the SC group developed a heel PU.

KEY WORDS:  Pressure ulcer   Bootees   Friction   Medical device-related pressure ulcers   Shear

ANDREW CLEVES, Researcher, Cedar, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cardiff Medicentre , University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff

NICOLA IVINS, Clinical Research Director, Welsh Wound Innovation Centre, Rhodfa Marics, Ynysmaerdy, Pontyclun

MICHAEL CLARK, Commercial Director, Welsh Wound Innovation Centre, Rhodfa Marics, Ynysmaerdy, Pontyclun

GRACE CAROLAN-REES, Cedar Director (Retired), Cedar, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cardiff Medicentre, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff

NIA JONES, Advanced Clinical Podiatrist, seconded to the Welsh Would Innovation Centre, Rhodfa Marics, Ynysmaerdy, Pontyclun.

JUDITH WHITE, Researcher, Cedar, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cardiff Medicentre, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.

RHYS MORRIS,Cedar Director, Cedar, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cardiff Medicentre, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff

Introduction: This survey of wound care specialists in the UK aims to be the first study to establish the prevalence of mobile wound app use and the perceived barriers to their implementation in wound care. This article presents the quantitative findings of the study.

Method: A cross-sectional survey of UK-based wound clinicians was undertaken to explore the current use of mobile applications in the field of wound care. A 40 question SurveyMonkey survey was used and distributed via closed Facebook groups for clinicians working in UK-based wound care services. Data analysis included calculation of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for attitude scales, summary statistics and thematic analysis of free text responses. Not reported in this paper The STROBE checklist was considered within the methodology of the study.

Results: Overall, n=250 survey responses were received. Complete survey responses were received from n=153 wound clinicians. This included responses from 121 nurses and 29 podiatrists and from clinicians from all four devolved nations of the UK. Only 21–24% of clinicians reported using mobile applications for wound care at the time of this survey. Almost all (99.5%) of clinicians responding to the survey have access to a smartphone with most (58.7%) having both a personal and work smartphone

Conclusions: It is evident that UK-based clinicians currently use mobile smartphones regularly, including within their clinical work, but do not currently use wound care focussed mobile applications. Barriers affecting the implementation of mobile applications in wound care services include a lack of interoperability between mobile applications and other IT infrastructure, poor Wi-Fi signal, negative attitudes towards technology, a lack of workforce diversity and bureaucratic obstructions.

Implications for practice: Clinical leaders in wound care should consider the factors identified within this study when developing implementation strategies for new mobile application technologies into wound care services.

KEY WORDS  Digital  Attitudes  Barriers  Enablers  Wound healing

MATTHEW WYNN Lecturer in Adult Nursing, University of Salford Correspondence: Room 3.42 Mary Seacole Building, University of Salford, Salford, M5 4BR, m. 该Email地址已收到反垃圾邮件插件保护。要显示它您需要在浏览器中启用JavaScript。

MICHAEL CLARK Professor, Commercial Director, Welsh Wound Innovation Centre, Rhodfa Marics, Ynysmaerdy, Pontyclun

Abstract: The care and management of surgical incisional wounds continues to attract both interest and concern, due to continued high rates of surgical site infection (SSI) and morbidity. Novel approaches to objective wound assessment using non invasive imaging modalities show promise in providing independent, objective wound assessment but only with the proviso that the wound is visible and can be ‘seen’ by the imaging detector.

Methods: An online semi-structured questionnaire was distributed via Survey Monkey to tissue viability nurses. Data was summarised descriptively, with responses relating to participant demographics and use of wound dressings tabulated. Key variables were also cross tabulated to investigate possible associations between variables. An economic analysis was conducted to estimate average weekly costs associated with changing and applying dressings, including both staff and equipmen costs. 

Conclusion: The largest type of dressing products currently in use were non adherent. Dressing changes took place approximately twice per week: more frequently if wounds were assessed/diagnosed as infected. The majority of wound assessment and dressing changes were undertaken by band 5, 6 or 7 nurses. There is a potential role for non-invasive infrared thermography to stratify risk of later SSI based upon the temperature distribution across wound site and adjacent skin territories. Early and objective interventions for early wound infection can reduce hospital inpatient stay, community visits, antimicrobial usage, patient morbidity and healthcare costs related to wound infection.

KEY WORDS   Imaging  Infrared  Dressing change  Dressings, treatment  Pay grade  Regime  Sonography  Surgical wound

PASANG TAMANG Postgraduate Researcher School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, UK.

CHARMAINE CHILDS PhD, Professor of Clinical Science, College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences, Sheffield Hallam University, UK JOHN STEPHENSON, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Statistics, Institute of Skin Integrity and Infection Prevention, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield KAREN OUSEY, PhD, Professor of Skin Integrity, Director for the Institute of Skin Integrity and Infection Prevention - University of Huddersfield Department of Nursing

SAMANTHA HOLLOWAY Academic Editor, Wounds UK; Reader, Programme Director, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff