Management of Traumatic Wounds and a Novel Approach to Delivering Wound Care in Children

Significance: The costs and morbidity of pediatric traumatic wounds are not well known. The literature lacks a comprehensive review of the volume, management, and outcomes of children sustaining soft tissue injury. We briefly review the existing literature for traumatic wounds such as open fractures and burns. Such injuries require dedicated wound care and we propose a novel approach for more efficient and more effective delivery of dedicated pediatric wound care. Recent Advances: New pediatric literature is emerging regarding the long-term effects of wound care pain in traumatic injuries-especially burns. A variety of wound dressings and alternative management techniques exist and are geared toward reducing wound care pain. Our institution utilizes a unique model to provide adequate sedation and pain control through a dedicated pediatric wound care unit. We believe that this model reduces the cost of wound care by decreasing emergency department and operating room visits as well as hospital length of stay. Critical Issues: First, medical costs related to pediatric traumatic wound care are not insignificant. The need for adequate pain control and sedation in children with complex wounds is traditionally managed with operating room intervention. Afterward, added costs can be from a hospital stay for ongoing acute wound management. Second, morbidities of complex traumatic wounds are shown to be related to the acute wound care received. Future Directions: Further guidelines are needed to determine the most effective and efficient care of complex traumatic soft tissue injuries in the pediatric population.