Purpose Exposed bone and periosteal damage promote the adherence of pathogens to bone matrix components. Damage to the periosteum adversely affects bone perfusion and creates a more suitable environment for pathogens. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of osteomyelitis among patients with diabetic foot ulcers with bone exposure and to identify the role of simple serological markers in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis in this patient group.

Background Mechanical skin injuries have been a neonatal complication since the 1980s but a number of factors affect their assessment, particularly the assessment of injury severity.Whilst there is a single severity and classification system used to assess adult pressure injuries within Australia, there are no neonatal-specific standards for injury assessment.Unfortunately, neonates sustain skin injuries frequently and, whilst there are some similarities to adult injuries, the maturity of neonatal skin puts the application of adult injury scales into question.In addition, several severity systems are currently utilised, thus outcomes for skin injury prevention or management strategies are difficult to compare.Aims This review will investigate severity scales used for neonatal skin injury.Secondly, this review will determine the (i) characteristics of severity scales such as ordinal or categorical groupings and (ii) assessment of scale validation for population.Methods This scoping review will utilise the PRISMA-ScR framework and the 2015 Joanna Briggs Institute methodology.The electronic medical databases chosen are PubMed, CINAHL, COCHRANE Central and Scopus.Publications from within the last 20 years will be included to ensure the scales and the neonatal population reflect the timepoint when neonatal skin care became a safety and quality outcome as recognised by international seminal works. Ethics and disseminationAs the data (i.e.

Background. Preservation and restoration of skin integrity following surgery is paramount for optimal patient wound healing outcomes. Acute wounds such as incisional wounds, skin tears, trauma or burn injury cause pain, reduce quality of life and are a considerable economic burden to the Australian healthcare system. Despite considerable advances in surgical technique and even with a panacea of innovative novel wound dressings, our scientific and clinical understanding of wound healing prevention and management of acute wound complications continue to present a considerable challenge to clinicians and policy makers. Understanding the gaps in knowledge and identifying clinical practice deficits are key for prevention and management of acute wounds. Aims. This scoping review aims to (i) map current research evidence and outcomes in acute wounds management, (ii) map current research evidence and outcomes in acute wounds prevention and (iii) determine research gaps in acute wound research relevant to Australia. Methods. The framework for this scoping review will utilise the PRISMA-ScR framework developed by Tricco et al.1. We will search the following databases – Medline, CINAHL, Embase, Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), Cochrane Library and PubMed from January 2010 to March 2021. Trial registries (e.g. ISRCTN, ANZCTR and clinicaltrials.gov) and websites and publications of professional associations for wound care will also be searched. Two reviewers will independently screen all titles, abstracts and full text for articles to include. Conflicts will be solved by a third reviewer. This scoping review will include both qualitative and quantitative studies on acute wounds conducted in Australia. We will extract data from eligible articles and results will be grouped according to area of research and synthesised in a narrative review. Ethics and dissemination. As we will use data (i.e., journal articles) from publicly available platforms this scoping review does not require ethical approval. Findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed journal and conference presentation and social media platforms.

Background: Adults with venous leg ulcers (VLUs) are less likely to be physically active and show greater sleep disturbances than the general population. Limited evidence suggests these issues contribute to VLU healing delays.Objectives: The primary objective is to determine if physical activity (PA) and sleep levels are associated with VLU healing. The secondary objectives are to: 1) evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a wrist-worn accelerometer device, wActiSleep-BT device wear (ActiGraph); 2) evaluate the utility of self-reported PA instruments to measure PA for people with VLU; and 3) determine whether PA and sleep levels are associated with i) delayed healing, ii) self-reported quality of life (QoL) and/or iii) self-reported VLU pain.Design and method: This prospective observational cohort pilot study aims to recruit 30 adults with VLUs from three hospital-based outpatient wound clinics in Melbourne, Australia. PA and sleep levels will be measured using the wActiSleep-BT device. VLU healing data will be collected from medical records. Patients’ self-reported outcomes will be collected using questionnaires.Discussion: Findings will provide insight into the relationship between PA and sleep with healing, QoL and pain, and determine the feasibility and acceptability of the wActiSleep-BT device. Findings will also inform the potential utility of self-reported instruments in estimating PA level in people with VLUs.Contribution of the paper statements:What is already known about the topic?VLUs are a common and costly problem. Adults with VLUs are more likely to be inactive. Sleep disturbances are more common in adults with VLUs than the general population. Increased PA may improve wound healing outcomes for adults with VLUs. What this paper adds An objective evaluation of the level of PA and sleep by adults with VLUs. The relationship between PA, sleep, VLU healing, as well as QoL and pain. The validation of self-reported instruments for assessing PA level. A feasibility assessment of the wActiSleep-BT device to examine levels of PA and sleep in adults with VLUs. An acceptability assessment of wearing the wActiSleep-BT device by adults with VLUs.

Connect, Collaborate, Innovate was the theme for this year's Wounds Australia National conference which was held virtually earlier this year. Little did the organisers know, when planning of the conference began in 2018, that a global pandemic would ensue, changing our lives forever. The delivery of the conference itself would have to reflect the theme, using innovative technology to deliver an online experience to allow us to connect and collaborate. An advantage of the online delivery of the conference was that wound practitioners from across Australia were able to attend without having to travel, taking away rurality as a potential barrier for attendance. Despite ongoing COVID restrictions, over 650 participants were still able to connect with colleagues, industry and experts and learn about the latest developments in clinical practice, theory and research. Through the various rooms within the virtual meeting place, participants were able to collaborate with new and old connections to solve problems and share innovations and hopefully everyone was inspired to develop and implement new innovations in their own wound practice. The feedback from the delegates has been overwhelmingly positive, with many commenting on the diverse, inter-disciplinary, international, innovative and sophisticated program reflective of our maturing organisation.

Wounds or ulcers result from damage to the body's surfaces such as skin and mucous membranes.Once damaged, our body starts the repair process which, under normal conditions, is an organised process involving multiple steps, tissues, cells and their products.However, failure of the repair process to occur in a synchronised and timely manner leads to delayed healing.Wounds failing to heal or progress by 8 weeks are usually categorised as chronic wounds.Non-healing chronic wounds are challenging because, with the passage of time, they can affect a patient's health, their quality of life, their ability to work and subsequently their finances.Wounds that fail to heal are a significant burden on health system budgets worldwide.Current routine management of wounds includes cleaning, debridement, applying wound dressings, compression bandages and antibiotics.However, non-healing wounds that fail to respond to these measures require advanced clinical methods, some of which have encouraging results.This review article discusses these advanced modalities, with a specific focus on electrical stimulation (ES) as an example of an emerging method being developed for the treatment of chronic wounds.