Science and Practice of Pressure Ulcer Management

Edited by Marco Romanelli, Michael Clark, George W. Cherry, Denis Colin, and Tom Defloor.

Editor Marco Romanelli, MD, his co-editors, and contributing authors have done a wonderful job at focusing on a broad spectrum of issues surrounding pressure ulcers in the recent monograph, Science and Practice of Pressure Ulcer Management, which was released in 2005. The book, published by Springer-Varlag, London, has 22 concise chapters that leave the reader with a full understanding of a wealth of information compiled from world medical literature on pressure ulcers.

The heavily researched information includes discussion of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, prevention, and therapy of pressure ulcers. These topics are further punctuated by chapters on the global similarities and dissimilarities in pressure ulcer evaluation, management, and prevention around the world. The history of advancement and stagnation of pressure ulcer management is also addressed. Not to be left out, a well thought-out and balanced discussion on projected future pressure ulcer management schemes is presented.

Due to the book’s comprehensiveness and conciseness, the table of contents and index provide the reader with a practical electronic search equivalent for the reading chair to locate the generalities as well as specifics of pressure ulcer grading scales, patient pressure ulcer risk estimates, and wound dressing materials. Beyond dressing categorizations, which are crystal clear in their presentation, exciting topical therapies, such as vacuum, heat, electrical current, pharmaceutical, maggot, stem cell, grafting, and gene therapy, are thoroughly presented. Surprisingly, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not discussed to any extent and accordingly is omitted from the index.

New and seasoned wound care practitioners, including physicians, nurses, and physical therapists, will profit by the organization and viewpoint of this book. Diagnostic modalities are amply discussed and include biochemical wound fluid analysis, periwound transcutaneous oxygen determination, CAT and MRI scanning, and thermography and ultrasonography.

The book fairly portrays American and Canadian contributions to pressure ulcer medical science. Modestly, but irrefutably, the reader comes away from the book with awareness that the European medical community has been, and will continue to be, a powerful contributor to the field. The importance of nutrition in wound prevention and management emphasizes this point.

The book, by a reviewer’s platitude, is definitely “an essential read” for those who care for patients inflicted by or at risk for developing pressure ulcers. Since there is a lack of similar, comprehensive works on the subject to date, this book will stand to be a classic in wound care literature.

Keith Van Meter, MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine
LSU Health Sciences Center/Charity Hospital
New Orleans, Louisiana