t gives me great pleasure as section editor to introduce this issue of the journal, which focuses on skin measurements. Wound assessment is rapidly becoming a very well defined subspecialty in wound care mainly due to the rapid growth of new therapeutic products, which necessitate proof of their efficacy aside from clinical assessment. Today, objective wound assessment with quantitative evaluation can measure various different parameters in clinical practice, while a vast array of computerized technologies is providing clinicians increasingly more consistent data. Significant results have been achieved with skin measurement in acute and chronic wound management; for this reason, we are publishing 3 articles in which the authors demonstrate the role of measurements in various types of wounds.
The first article by Melhuish et al. discusses the measurement of sub-bandage pressure in an in-vitro model, where elastic compression bandaging was applied using 2 different techniques. The main results of the study were that the sub-bandage pressures measured beneath the 2 compression bandages were similar at each application tension and equivalent as the number of bandage layers increased for both bandage application techniques. The higher application tension technique revealed a trend for the bandages applied in a spiral fashion to apply higher sub-bandage pressures.
In the second article, Piaggesi et al. review measurement techniques available for diabetic foot ulcer assessment and management. The authors distinguish between a pre- and a post-ulcerative phase when considering skin measurements in patients with diabetes. The role of prevention is vital in this type of diabetic complication; specific measurements, such as tissue perfusion, skin hydration, and assessment of neuropathy, can play a major role in providing the patient with the best possible options to avoid the risk of amputation. The diabetic foot ulcer has to be considered a unique entity when considering skin measurements and in comparison to other types of chronic wounds; this is due to the many anatomical and biomechanical factors involved in the cutaneous tissue repair process.
The last contribution by Mastronicola et al. provides practitioners with a measurement system that can quantitatively analyze burn depth in a simple and rapid manner. In this study, the value of clinical scoring is compared with a colorimetric evaluation in terms of wound depth evaluation and healing time. The partial-thickness burn can be more complex than expected from a diagnostic point of view, particularly in the light of the therapeutic procedures to be applied either surgically or by using occlusive dressings. The quantitative assessment presented in this study is a validated and reproducible method that is currently being used in general dermatology and in industry. Since noninvasive colorimetric measurements can be performed repeatedly on the same wound site, changes during wound healing can be monitored.
Our knowledge about the physical properties of acute and chronic wounds is likely to increase in the near future thanks to this greater interaction with engineering. Noninvasive measurement techniques are an important aspect of wound healing, and the use of these technologies can be expected to progress with new instruments and methods to be applied in future research and clinical practice. |
