Journal of General Practice Nursing (GPN) | September 2020

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Assessing and treating venous leg ulcers in primary care

Assessing and treating venous leg ulcers in primary care
Wound Care

Pages: 54 - 59

Article topics: Assessment tools, Holistic approach, Patient outcomes, Venous leg ulceration, Wound assessment

Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) present a huge burden, not just in terms of healthcare costs (Guest et al, 2017), but also in their negative impact on patient quality of life (Marczak et al, 2019). A holistic, multifaceted approach to assessment is needed to ensure that all factors contributing to their development are considered to allow optimal healing to take place. The European Wound Management Association (EWMA, 2016) however, has highlighted a disparity in care between community and specialist settings, with some nurses lacking the necessary skills needed to undertake effective assessment. Since wound assessment is a core component of wound management, impacting directly on therapeutic choices and thus healing (Lázaro-Martínez et al, 2018), it is imperative that general practice nurses (GPNs) are supported in being able to assess wounds accurately. This article discusses and reflects on the value of effectively assessing wounds in primary care using the Triangle of Wound Assessment framework, which focuses not just on the wound bed, but also the periwound skin.


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