Background There is a wealth of microorganisms that are causative for bone and soft tissue infections. Wounds sustained in, or exposed to, marine environments are unique in regards to the spectrum of bacteria encountered in these environments. The senior author observed a high rate of patient-reported exposure of postoperative surgical wounds to seawater. Anecdotally, this resulted in delayed wound healing or postoperative infection in many patients.

Methods A prospective patient questionnaire was designed to assess the attitudes and beliefs of Gold Coast residents presenting to orthopaedic outpatient clinic towards seawater exposure of surgical wounds. Data was collected over a 3-month period from August–October 2018; 1,000 competent adult patients completed the questionnaire.

Results A total of 29% of the respondents reported to have put their surgical wound in seawater, and 95% of these patients believed that placing their wound in seawater was beneficial to wound healing.

Conclusion This study highlights that, in this population of patients, the overwhelming majority believe that seawater is beneficial to them and to their surgical wounds; we therefore need to be more diligent as healthcare providers about educating our patients in regards to proper wound care.

Aim To identify and categorise active wound care education courses available to healthcare workers in Australia in order to establish an accessible wound care education resource directory.

Method A modified point prevalence enquiry of active wound care education courses was conducted in 2021. Data was collected via an initial desk search, with follow-up by direct contact with education course providers and representative wound care professionals as required to identify and categorise wound care education courses.

Results Sixty-one (61) currently available active wound care educational courses available to healthcare workers met the inclusion criteria for identification and categorisation, providing the content for an online accessible wound care education resource directory.

Conclusion Access to wound care educational courses in Australia is ad hoc, with courses identified as available from a wide range of providers. The identification and categorisation of these courses providing the content for an online accessible wound care education resource directory will likely improve access to knowledge and treatments leading to improved consumer outcomes.

Malignant wounds cause significant suffering for patients with advanced cancer. These wounds are often non-healing, and the burden of wound-related symptoms is associated with declining physical function, social isolation and a sense of loss of control among patients. Holistic multidisciplinary support and specialised wound care are key to caring for patients with malignant wounds; however, this area remains under-researched and evidence-based management remains challenging. This paper reviews the existing evidence for management of malignant wounds and highlights the role of palliative care in supporting patients and caregivers.

Background Real-time remote consultations could be a way for wound, ostomy and continence nurses (WOCNs) to provide wound care alongside visiting nurses. We developed an application (app) for remote wound care consultations that facilitated high quality video calling and patient data sharing which was specifically designed for Japanese home care settings. In this report, we discuss the case of a patient who received real-time remote consultations through the app.

Case A woman aged in her 90s had a wound on the posterior aspect of her left lower leg. The wound did not show any healing progress for 3 weeks. A WOCN obtained the patient’s information through the app which was uploaded by a visiting nurse before the first consultation. Weekly real-time remote consultations were conducted through the app using video calls. The WOCN could observe the wound in detail, and communicate with both the visiting nurse and the patient. The WOCN assessed that a factor of delayed wound healing was venous insufficiency, and then gave care recommendations. The wound healed within 6 weeks.

Conclusions The WOCN could simultaneously assess the wound and provide care recommendations remotely using the app. This app could contribute to connecting WOCNs, visiting nurses and patients remotely and effectively.

Chronic leg ulcers are frustrating wounds to heal. Successful treatment relies on effective diagnosis and management of the underlying aetiology of the chronic leg ulcer as well as appropriate local wound treatment. Extensive knowledge of the range of dressing products is essential to be able to source the most appropriate dressing for your patient. We present here examples of our early positive experience with a newly introduced product to Australia and its use in difficult to heal wounds. The product is gentian violet and methylene blue (GVMB) impregnated into a polyvinyl alcohol foam (Hydrofera Blue CLASSIC^®, AinsCorp Pty Ltd). It has many advantages including an antibacterial effect with negative pressure wicking of bacteria, exudate and debris, long wear time and pain free removal and it is cost effective. These case reports illustrate three cases where GVMB dressings have been used successfully in chronic leg ulcer management.

Cutaneous vasculitis presents a significant challenge to wound care specialists with the potential to result in large areas of dermal necrosis complicated by multisystem pathology leading to poor physiological reserve and treatment options that arrest normal healing. Both surgical and conservative management needs to be flexible as plans can be derailed by the fluctuating course of disease. In this case the application of a synthetic dermal substitute, NovoSorb^® Biodegradable Temporizing Matrix (BTM), and ongoing structured assessment using TIMERS and wound standards of care achieved unexpected positive results.

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.

Background Pressure injuries (PI) are an important quality and safety issue in healthcare, with an annual cost of treating PI in Australia estimated to exceed $A983 million. Electronic health (eHealth) interventions are increasingly being used to assist consumers and services in the prevention and management of PI. Digital health or eHealth involves health services and information delivered or enhanced through the internet and related technologies. This scoping review aims to: identify and map existing eHealth interventions for the prevention of PI; map learnings from these studies related to the non-adoption, abandonment and challenges to the scale-up, spread and sustainability of these devices; and determine gaps in research related to the use of eHealth interventions in the prevention of PI.

Method A scoping review will be guided by the methodology outlined by Arksey and O’Malley and the PRISMA-ScR framework. MEDLINE, CINAHL, ScienceDirect and the Cochrane library databases will be systematically searched using a piloted search strategy. Two reviewers will independently screen all titles, abstracts and full text articles. Any conflicts will be resolved by a third author. Consultations with authors holding clinical expertise in PI prevention and wound care will further inform the synthesis and reporting of findings. Findings will be presented in tabular and narrative format.

Results This scoping review will assist in the translation of existing clinical practice guidelines into practice. By harnessing the power of technology and data, effective eHealth solutions will facilitate greater client and carer involvement and earlier intervention in PI by supporting clinicians to tailor care to an individual’s needs and preferences and providing the right intervention at the right time.