Wound care technologies: Emerging evidence for appropriate use in long-term care

Good fundamental principles of wound care are very important to the overall success of wound healing. The use of wound care technology is rapidly increasing in the long-term care environment. Negative pressure therapy, hyperbaric oxygen, silver-based therapy, ultrasonic mist, and special wound mattresses are becoming options for the multidisciplinary skin care treatment team. The evidence behind the use of these technologies has been increasing in the last few years. Pressure reduction mattresses have shown good evidence of superiority over standard mattresses. Investigators have evaluated hyperbaric oxygen and negative pressure therapy for diabetic foot ulcers with some success. Ultrasonic mist and silver-based therapy also show some potential promise. Despite the overall promise in some randomized trials, there are still limitations with the evidence behind these technologies.