Development and integration of a wound cleansing pathway into clinical practice

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Infection Control
• Wound Management

Background:

• Wound bed preparation is crucial for improving wound condition.
• Effective wound cleansing strategies are essential for patient outcomes.
• Previous practices relied on saline for wound cleansing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement a new wound cleansing policy.
• To audit the impact of the new policy on wound infection rates.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a surfactant-based cleanser in wound care.

Main Methods:

• A wound cleansing pathway was introduced, replacing saline with a surfactant-based cleanser.
• Staff training and practice changes were implemented alongside the new pathway.
• Audits were conducted to measure changes in wound infection rates before and after implementation.

Main Results:

• The implementation of the new wound cleansing pathway led to a significant reduction in wound infections.
• A decrease of 84.3% in wound infections was observed between 2017 and 2019.
• The study highlights the success of the revised wound care practices.

Conclusions:

• A surfactant-based cleanser, as part of a revised wound cleansing pathway, is effective in reducing wound infections.
• Auditing wound care practices is vital for measuring the impact of interventions.
• The Skin Integrity Team successfully improved wound care and infection control outcomes.