Open AccessManagement and antisepsis in wound care: The experience of an Italian region (Liguria) in the treatment of older people affected by chronic ulcers
Author(s) -
Aurora Parodi,
Valeria Maria Messina,
Teresa Cannavale,
Stefania Sorbara,
Andrea Francesco Pestarino,
Emanuele Cozzani
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
italian journal of wound care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2611-6626
DOI - 10.4081/ijwc.2021.76
Subject(s) - medicine , multidisciplinary approach , epidemiology , chronic wound , wound care , health care , quality of life (healthcare) , european union , limiting , intensive care medicine , surgery , wound healing , pathology , nursing , business , mechanical engineering , social science , sociology , engineering , economics , economic policy , economic growth
Liguria is one of the Italian regions with the highest percentage of elderly people. The European Union declared the region as a “reference site”, for experimenting cutting-edge solutions and assistance models in health management of elderly people. Chronic ulcers become a problem of considerable importance looking at the number of involved elderly patients and of the necessary resources for their care, as well for the impact on the patient’s quality of life, due to the painful and limiting nature of the pathology. This study aims to evaluate the appropriate wound management in older people affected by chronic ulcers. A group of wound care experts operating in the Liguria region met with the aim of reviewing the epidemiology of chronic skin lesions, analyzing the diagnostic/therapeutic approach currently in use, focusing on the importance of the antisepsis in wound management. In Liguria region general practitioners reported a 3.9% prevalence of chronic skin lesions in 2018, and up to 7.35% in women over 85 years; about 90% of the lesions managed at home were pressure lesions. An overall assessment of the patient and the lesion, appropriate cleansing and antisepsis phases and a multidisciplinary management are essential to facilitate the wound’s healing process among the elderly.