Applying recognized outcomes management principles can transform the process of caring for wounds into getting results that matter for patients, providers, practice settings, or nations struggling to meet increasing wound care challenges. Documenting and reviewing outcomes in the context of best available evidence frees wound care professionals to replace protocols that aren’t working with those that propel progress toward wound and patient goals.

  Previous WOUNDS issues focused on wound outcomes, defined outcomes research and explored its implementation around the world. In the following pages, authors explore how to document and implement wound outcomes in practice: listing choices of wound outcomes to measure, describing how outcome databases add value to one’s practice, and comparing wound outcomes in one’s practice to relevant published benchmarks.

This issue of WOUNDS focuses on Skin and Wound Measurement and presents research on several methods for tracking wound healing using digital wound measurement software, immunohistochemical analysis, and thermal and stereoscopic wound imaging.

Dini et al investigated the impact of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) as an adjunct to compression therapy and its impact on immunohistochemical expression of tissue biomarkers taken from non-healing venous leg ulcers. The authors reported significant improvement in terms of granulation tissue promotion, angiogenesis, lymphatic vessels, and macrophage and lymphocyte proliferation, compared to controls.

  The pandemic of diabetes mellitus continues unabated worldwide. Nearly 250 million people were affected by diabetes in 2000 and this number is estimated to rise up to 400 million by 2020. Given this rising incidence, it is reasonable to expect that chronic diabetic complications will also increase. Diabetic foot problems are the most common among these complications. Currently, 15% of patients with diabetes are expected to develop a foot ulcer within his or her lifetime.

  Advances in all aspects of tissue repair have progressed at an unprecedented pace over the last decade. Stem cell technology has received broad local and national coverage as a result of its unique approach to regenerating tissue-specific cells. The literature abounds with in-vitro and in-vivo experimentation and clinical cases, yet clinical trials are limited. One is just beginning to read of larger, randomized and control clinical trials, particularly with problematic wounds and tissue repair.

Veterinary Wounds

  The Westgate et al review summarizes current research related to equine wound healing and wound care. The review also outlines the role of microbes and associated bacterial biofilms in the delayed healing of chronic equine wounds. Biofilms are defined as a group of microorganisms that are encased within a three dimensional matrix of extracellular polymeric substances and irreversibly attached to a biological or nonbiological surface.¹ Bacteria within biofilms are resistant to traditional therapy

The biofilm concept explains many features of

     Medical professionals are increasingly compelled to do more with less and wound care is no exception. This special focus issue of WOUNDS will share the experiences of a dedicated global multidisciplinary team of wound and lymphedema clinicians, academic institutions, public health experts, industry partners, and non-governmental development organizations (NGDOs) participating in the World Alliance for Wound and Lymphedema Care (WAWLC). Their mission is to develop an integrated approach to improve wound and lymphedema patient outcomes in low-resource environments.

     It is always an honour to be asked to put together a special edition of a journal, particularly when it focuses on topics that are close to your heart. Keeping patients as the focus of our practice ensures that we focus on their health-related experiences and not just on the clinical signs and symptoms of their wounds. Recently, there has been a substantial increase in the volume of published work regarding the psychosocial issues in wound care, but we are still only scratching the surface of understanding the ways in which psychosocial elements impact healing or affect the

     Bacteria and other infectious organisms play a varied role in wound healing. Complicating acute wound healing by prolonging the inflammatory phase of healing, infectious organisms may cause a variety of wounds from epidermal loss associated with impetigo (Staphylococcus) and cold sores (herpes simplex), as well as deeper wounds causing ecthyma (Pseudomonas) or necrotizing fasciitis (aerobic or anaerobic bacteria).^1–5 In some cases of non life-threatening infections, the host response to the infection, rather than the infectious organism itself, is primarily res

Veterinary Wounds

Mast cells (MCs) are found in many tissues and contain granules rich in histamine and heparin and a battery of mediators with proinflammatory and immunoregulatory potential. Although best known for their role in anaphylaxis and allergy, MCs also have an important protective role, as they are intimately involved in wound healing and defence against invasive pathogens.^1,2 They are thought to originate from bone marrow precursors expressing the CD34 molecule and circulate in an immature form until they reach a tissue site whe

When considering what to put in the “Advances in Burn Care” section this time, I was hard pressed to find enough that was new in burn care to fill an entire issue. I decided instead to devote this issue of WOUNDS to the history of burn care. This way, we all can remember from whence we came in burn care.

Two articles are written by Chester Paul, MD. I asked Dr. Paul to write a review of the history of burn grafting. He believed that the topic was too large in scope for one review, and decided to write one article on skin grafting and another on the use of skin s