Dear Readers,

       New—a word that confuses and causes even the strongest to tremble. Why do we need new? Walt Disney said, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things because we’re curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

       This issue of WOUNDS marks the beginning of a new path. We face a new year full of expectations and challenges, a new format for the Journal, a new Clinical Editor, a new Managing Editor, a new Associate Editor, and new goals for WOUNDS. We have some business to finish for retiring Clinical Editor, Dr. David Rovee, PhD. He and others have worked tirelessly to have the Journal listed in Index Medicus. Inclusion will give WOUNDS more credibility within the scientific community and stimulate the submission of additional articles for publication. We look forward to this coming to fruition. We are also working to add additional sections to the Journal so that WOUNDS can be the source of wound care information for all practitioners. To accomplish this, I will need the help of everyone. Your suggestions are welcomed.

       Our international colleagues have provided the 3 articles in this issue. The article by Poltawski and Watson from the United Kingdom, (Transmission of therapeutic ultrasound by wound dressing), is an in-depth look at the effect of wound dressings on the transmission of therapeutic ultrasound. Their findings will have important implications for all who use this treatment modality.

       Two articles on pressure ulcers, one from Brazil, (Risk factors for pressure ulcers in hospitalized elderly without significant cognitive impairment), and one from Japan, (Evaluation of pressure ulcers in 202 patients with cancer…), increase our knowledge about this all too frequently encountered problem.




Terry Treadwell, MD, FACS
Editor, WOUNDS