Self-care foot assessment and e-Health services for diabetic foot ulcer patients: a mobile phone app

Foot complications from diabetes mellitus are one of main causes of lower limb amputation, however, public awareness of diabetic foot care is low. A mobile app “Happy Feet” was developed,s targeting patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Patients foot awareness substantially increased after three and six months of using the application. Mean total scores between baseline and three months were significantly increased (baseline versus three months, 22.80 versus 25.54; p<0.01), and between three and six months in “examining between the toes” and “breaking in new shoes slowly” (p<0.01). Policymakers and medical professionals benefit from the mobile app by providing accurate and precise information from this group of patients.

Key words: Diabetic foot 、Mobile phone application 、   Self-care 、  Self-assessment

Multi-centre, international practicebased evidence using PICO™ singleuse negative pressure wound therapy: challenging current behaviours in wound care practice

Hard-to-heal wounds are challenging to treat and the associated costs consistently fall on outpatient, community and home care budgets. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests the use of PICO™ single-use negative pressure wound therapy (sNPWT) can potentially help improve healing rates of wounds that are deemed as not healing and reduce associated nursing resources and costs. A 323-patient service evaluation was conducted across 17 sites in Denmark, Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom between 2016 and 2022. The results are presented in this article.

Authors:

Jane Hampton, Helen Meagher, Andrew Sharpe, Tim Styche and Jacqui Hughes

Jane Hampton is a Wound Consultant in Aarhus, Denmark; Helen Meagheris a Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Tissue Viability, Ireland; Andrew Sharpe is Advanced Podiatrist, Salford Care Organisation, Part of the Northern Care Alliance, UK; Tim Styche is Market Access & Healthcare Economics Manager at Smith+Nephew; Jacqui Hughes is Senior Healthcare Outcomes Manager at Smith+Nephew

A novel approach to chronic wound management using a patented cream of silicon dioxide, silver ions, chlorhexidine and hyaluronic acid

Chronic wounds with low healing rate generally lead to decreased in quality of life of patients, financial burden and increased morbidity rate (Järbrink et al, 2016). Thus, wound care management involving a patented 4-in-1 formulation is an aid in the management of chronic wounds. To demonstrate its efficacy, seven patients were chosen, four with a venous leg ulcer, two with a diabetic foot ulcer and 1 with a pressure ulcer. All the wounds were cleaned, debrided and then the silicon dioxide, silver ions, chlorhexidine and hyaluronic acid cream (KAdermin cream) was applied as the primary dressing, with a non-adhesive dressing as a secondary dressing. This case series demonstrates that the cream was able to reduce wound size significantly, while eliminating infection signs.

Harikrishna KR Nair is a Professor and Head of Wound Care Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Kuala Lumpur; Nur Zati Ilwani, a SRN, Staff Nurse of Wound Care Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Kuala Lumpur; Ling Li Ng is a Pharmacist of Y.S.P. Industries (M) Sdn. Bhd.Lumpur

IWGDF Guideline on the prevention of foot ulcers in persons with diabetes(2)

AUTHORS

Sicco A. Bus1 , Larry A. Lavery2, Matilde Monteiro-Soares3 , Anne Rasmussen4, Anita Raspovic5 , Isabel C.N. Sacco6, Jaap J. van Netten1,7,8 on behalf of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF)

INSTITUTIONS

1 Amsterdam UMC, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

2 Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA

3 MEDCIDES: Departamento de Medicina da Comunidade Informação e Decisão em Saúde & CINTESIS – Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

4 Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Gentofte, Denmark

5 Discipline of Podiatry, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

6 Physical Therapy, Speech and Occupational Therapy department, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

7 School of Clinical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

8 Diabetic foot clinic, Department of Surgery,Ziekenhuisgroep Twente, Almelo and Hengelo, The Netherlands

KEYWORDS

diabetic foot; foot ulcer; guidelines; prevention; footwear; self-care; self-management; education www.iwgdfguidelines.org

IWGDF Guidelines on the prevention and management of diabetic foot disease(1)

AUTHORS

Nicolaas C. Schaper1 , Jaap J. van Netten2,3,4, Jan Apelqvist5 , Sicco A. Bus2 , Robert J. Hinchlife6 , Benjamin A. Lipsky7 on behalf of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF)

INSTITUTIONS

1 Div. Endocrinology, MUMC+, CARIM and CAPHRI Institute, Maastricht, The Netherlands

2 Amsterdam UMC, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

3 School of Clinical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

4 Diabetic foot clinic, Department of Surgery, Ziekenhuisgroep Twente, Almelo and Hengelo, The Netherlands

5 Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital of Malmö, Sweden

6 Bristol Centre for Surgical Research, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

7 Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, USA; Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

KEYWORDS

diabetic foot; foot ulcer; guidelines; guidance; implementation; prevention; treatment www.iwgdfguidelines.org

Telemedicine and Telehealth in Urology—What Do the ‘Patients’ Think About It?

Nithesh Naik 1,2, B. M. Zeeshan Hameed2,3 *, Sanjana Ganesh Nayak 4 , Anshita Gera4, Shreyas Raghavan Nandyal 5 , Dasharathraj K. Shetty 6 , Milap Shah2,7, Sufyan Ibrahim2,8 , Aniket Naik 8 , Nagaraj Kamath8 , Delaram Mahdaviamiri 9 , Kenisha Kevin D’costa10 , Bhavan Prasad Rai 2,11, Piotr Chlosta12 and Bhaskar K. Somani 2,13

1 Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India,

2 iTRUE (International Training and Research in Uro-oncology and Endourology) Group, Manipal, India,

3 Department of Urology, Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore, India,

4 Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India,

5 Gandhi Medical College, Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences, Secunderabad, India,

6 Department of Humanities and Management, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India,

7 Robotics and Urooncology, Max Hospital and Max Institute of Cancer Care, New Delhi, India,

8 Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India,

9 Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India,

10 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India,

11 Department of Urology, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom,

12 Department of Urology, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Kraków, Poland,

13 Department of Urology,University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom

       Telemedicine is the delivery of healthcare to patients who are not in the same location as the physician. The practice of telemedicine has a large number of advantages, including cost savings, low chances of nosocomial infection, and fewer hospital visits. Teleclinics have been reported to be successful in the post-surgery and post-cancer therapy follow-up, and in offering consulting services for urolithiasis patients. This review focuses on identifying the outcomes of the recent studies related to the usage of video consulting in urology centers for hematuria referrals and follow-up appointments for a variety of illnesses, including benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), kidney stone disease (KSD), and urinary tract infections (UTIs) and found that they are highly acceptable and satisfied. Certain medical disorders can cause embarrassment, social exclusion, and also poor self-esteem, all of which can negatively impair health-related quality-of-life. Telemedicine has proven beneficial in such patients and is a reliable, cost-effective patient-care tool, and it has been successfully implemented in various healthcare settings and specialties.

Keywords: telemedicine, telehealth, urology, patients perspective, COVID-19