Intervention with Formulated Collagen Gel for Chronic Heel Pressure Ulcers in Older Adults with Diabetes.

Chronic pressure ulcers (PrUs), ulcers that fail to progress through the expected phases of wound healing in a timely fashion, are not only a concern for the patients afflicted with them, but are also a significant burden for the long-term-care facilities in which patients reside. The heel is the second most common location for PrUs. Morbidity and mortality rates for heel PrUs, particularly in the diabetic population, are alarming.

Serial sharp debridement and formulated collagen gel to treat pressure ulcers in elderly long-term care patients: a case study.

Clinicians treating pressure ulcers in the elderly in long-term care often face psychosocial, financial, and patient quality-of-life challenges; as such, they seek to identify products that meet wound healing goals as expeditiously as possible. The purpose of this case series was to evaluate outcomes of serial sharp debridement and the application of a formulated collagen gel in patients with chronic, nonhealing pressure ulcers. Three patients (two women ages 82 and 74 years of age and one man 82 years old, all incontinent of bladder and bowel with numerous comorbidities) had wounds >18 months' duration on the buttocks or coccyx that failed to improve despite the use of a wide variety of treatments, including negative pressure wound therapy.