Don’t “wait and see”

Don’t “wait and see”

Sometimes clinicians treat patients with wounds for many weeks hoping that the challenged individual will find a way to get better … perhaps a different antibiotic, perhaps a different dressing, perhaps a dietary supplement and so on. In their EWMA document “Atypical Wounds: Best Practices and Challenges”, Isoherranen and colleagues provide an algorithm on systemic assessment. If a wound isn’t showing signs of repair within two weeks of commencing treatment there will be a reason why. Act on suspicion and if need be refer early.