| Journals Watch
2003 This section
features a regularly updated list of recently published articles relevant to nurse
prescribing.
Abstracts of the papers are included and
users are encouraged to submit their views about published papers through the feedback section.
Please note: In
this section of the website we aim to cover articles on areas where nurses do prescribe.
However, not all the treatments or appliances mentioned are prescribable by nurses. For
that reason, nurses should check the up-to-date versions of the Nurse Prescribers’ Formulary for District Nurses and
Health Visitors (NPF) and the Nurse
Prescribers’ Extended Formulary (NPEF) and Drug tariff if they
are in any doubt. Alternatively contact your Regional Nurse Prescribing Lead
for clarification.
2002 Wound & leg ulcer care
| 2001 Wound & leg ulcer care
Wound and leg ulcer care
Click on the article titles below to read the summaries.
Ellis J and Harker J. Innovations in district nursing:
the use of a first dressing starter box. Br J Community Nursing 2002; 7(12):
616-622
The availability of a starter box of dressing products for use at the first
dressing consultation can lead to better patient care and cost savings,
according to this pilot study based in Oldham.
Since nurse prescribing was introduced, district nurses have raised concerns
about the fact that the only dressing they can apply while waiting for a
prescription to be dispensed is a simple non-adherent dressing, which does
not meet the criteria for an ideal wound dressing. There are then often
delays and inconvenience for the patient before they receive the most
appropriate dressing. The common practice for many years was to use surplus
dressings prescribed for another patient but this has been challenged as
unacceptable.
In this study, information was gathered by questionnaire about first
dressing applications and the pilot study developed in response. Nurses
eligible to carry out domiciliary first visits were given a plastic wallet
stocked with dressings from the starter box in the surgery. All qualified
nurses had access to the box for use within the clinic. Eleven types of
dressing, matching those on the local hospital formulary, were included.
The results showed that there are enough first dressing consultations to
justify an alternative supply route and that there are benefits in time,
convenience and patient care, together with some cost savings. The
initiative is now being extended across a wider area.
Nursing Times 2003; 99(5): 47-71
This supplement, produced in conjunction with the Leg Ulcer Forum, contains
articles on telemedicine, managing wound exudate, topical negative pressure
therapy, wound swabbing technique, pressure ulcers and litigation, a
holistic approach to wound care and the management of skin tears.
Website: Nursing
Times
Kingsley A and Winfield-Davies S.
Audit of wound swab sampling: why protocols could improve practice.
Professional Nurse 2003; 18(6): 338-343
Keywords: Microbiological wound sampling; surface
swab; antimicrobials; antibiotics; infection; critical colonisation.
Several factors contribute to the potential unreliability of the wound swab
although it is simple, convenient and non-invasive. An audit of wound swab
practice by nurses in primary and secondary care described here revealed
wide variations and led to the proposed wound swabbing protocols.
One protocol is aimed at identifying the infecting organism only and the
other at identifying the collection of species in the wound. They both set
out the description of the wound, sampling objective/rationale, swabbing
method and rationale, and notes for completing the microbiology form.
Nursing Times 2003; 99(13): 47-75
This supplement includes two articles about fungating wounds and the issues
involved in their management, and also covers wound assessment, maggot
infestation, the prediction of pressure ulcer risk, classification of
pressure ulcers, surgical wound management and electrically operated beds.
Website: Nursing Times
Young T. Managing pain in wound
care. Practice Nurse 2003; 25(8): 53-57
The author looks at the physiology and characteristics of wound pain and the
impact it has on patients’ lives, before discussing its causes and
management. The provision of analgesia is not always straightforward,
particularly as it can be difficult for patients to time it for dressing
changes. It can also be difficult to achieve pain-free removal and
application of dressings, even with the correct dressing and technique.
A systematic review of the evidence for efficacy of
dressings and local anaesthesia/analgesia to provide pain relief for
patients with venous leg ulceration highlighted the lack of acceptable
research trials and nurses will often have to rely on experience to guide
practice.
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