Publications by authors named "Mary Litchford"

Article Synopsis
  • Ensuring proper nutrition is crucial for skin health and wound healing, with rising malnutrition contributing to increased illness globally, especially in food-insecure populations.
  • Racial and ethnic minorities face higher rates and severity of wounds, complicating detection especially in darker skin tones, which exacerbates healthcare disparities.
  • Culturally tailored nutrition interventions can address these health inequities by aligning care with diverse dietary preferences, ultimately improving patient outcomes and fostering trust in healthcare settings.
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Malnutrition is a collective term that includes both undernutrition and malnutrition. Malnutrition presents with and without inflammation, is reported in underweight, normal weight, and overweight individuals, and is associated with undesirable alterations in body composition, and diminished functional status. Older adults commonly experience dwindling nutritional status as evidenced by insidious weight loss, insufficient dietary intake, loss of muscle mass, quality, and strength, declining functional status, and other physical and emotional decline indicators.

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Nutrition and Wound Care.

Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am

November 2022

Nutrition is an important component of health and well-being. A compromised nutritional status has been linked to increased risk for wound development, difficulty managing, and decreased wound healing rate. Malnutrition contributes to an immunocompromised system, reduced collagen synthesis, and diminished tensile strength during the wound healing process.

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Nutrition plays a vital role in promoting skin integrity and supporting tissue repair in the presence of chronic wounds such as pressure injuries (PIs). Individuals who are malnourished are at greater risk of polymorbid conditions, adverse clinical outcomes, longer hospital lengths of stay, PI development, and mortality, and incur increased healthcare costs compared with patients who are adequately nourished. In addition, some patient populations tend to be more vulnerable to PI formation, such as neonates, patients with obesity, older adults, and individuals who are critically ill.

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Background: Consumer engagement is a requirement of high quality clinical guidelines. Developing strategies to engage consumers and incorporate the perspectives of individuals with or at risk of pressure ulcers/injuries and their informal caregivers was one priority in the recent update of the EPUAP/NPIAP/PPPIA's Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers/Injuries: Clinical Practice Guideline.

Aims: The aims were to determine the goals of individuals and caregivers for pressure ulcer/injury care, priorities for pressure ulcer/injury education and biggest problems related to pressure ulcers/injuries.

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General Purpose: To explore the changes in the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel, European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance Clinical Practice Guideline for Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers/Injuries (CPG) nutrition recommendations and strategies for implementation.

Target Audience: This continuing education activity is intended for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses with an interest in skin and wound care.

Learning Objectives/outcomes: After participating in this educational activity, the participant will:1.

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There has been an ongoing debate in the healthcare community about what pressure ulcers/injuries are, and how to name, define and classify them. The aim of this discussion paper is to provide a brief theoretical background about pressure ulcer/injury classification, to explain the approach the Guideline Governance Group has taken during the 2019 update of the International Guideline for 'Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers/Injuries' and to share views on how to best implement pressure ulcer/injury classification. First formal pressure ulcer/injury classifications were introduced in the 1950s and today various pressure ulcer/injury classification systems are used worldwide.

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Aim: The European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, the Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance, and the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel are updating the 'Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: Clinical Practice Guideline' (CPG) in 2019. The aim of this contribution is to summarize and to discuss the guideline development protocol for the 2019 update.

Methods: A guideline governance group determines and monitors all steps of the CPG development.

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Food preservation technologies and medical advances in the past 50 years have contributed to safeguarding the health and prolonging the lives of individuals worldwide. However, living longer does not automatically equate with being healthy, living independently, making judicious decisions, or setting goals and achieving them. Most adults will experience 1 or more health problems with lingering consequences.

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Numerous studies have reported associations between declining nutrition status and risk for pressure ulcers. Oral eating problems, weight loss, low body weight, undernutrition, and malnutrition are associated with an increased risk for pressure ulcers. Moreover, inadequate nutrient intake and low body weight are associated with slow and nonhealing wounds.

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Modular protein supplements are added to either the diet or enteral formula to increase the protein or amino acid intakes of people who are nutritionally compromised. Protein supplements are aggressively marketed to long-term care clinicians because protein energy malnutrition and wounds are a common problem in this care setting. It can be challenging for clinicians to distinguish one product from another and to determine the best product for a specific application or nutrition care goal.

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