Solution-oriented research for paediatric burn prevention in Mongolia: An assessment of prevention tools.

Child burn injuries in Mongolia are often caused by electric cooking appliances used on the floor or low table in traditional tent-like dwellings (called a ger) which have no separate kitchen. To prevent these injuries, we developed a context-specific kitchen rack to make electric appliances inaccessible to children, and the rack was provided to 50 families with children aged 0-3 years living in gers for a pilot test. In the present study, we investigated their opinions about the rack after they used it for about 10 months through semi-structured interviews, their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the rack using a contingent valuation method, and their preference for potential modifications of the rack using best-worst scaling.

Parental acceptance and willingness to pay for a newly designed kitchen rack to reduce paediatric burns.

The majority of pediatric burns in Mongolia occur within the home, particularly in the spaces dedicated to cooking. This makes home environment modification a priority for injury prevention. Many of these injuries are caused by electric appliances used in traditional tent-like dwellings (called a ger).

A Structured Review to Assess the Current Status of Cost-Based Burns Research in Nepal.

The management of burns is costly and complex. The problem is compounded in low and middle income countries (LMICs) where the incidence of burn injuries is high but infrastructure and funding for management and prevention is limited. Cost of illness studies allows for quantification of the costs associated with public health problems.

Burns in Nepal: a participatory, community survey of burn cases and knowledge, attitudes and practices to burn care and prevention in three rural municipalities.

Objectives: As part of an ongoing, long-term project to co-create burn prevention strategies in Nepal, we collected baseline data to share and discuss with the local community, use as a basis for a co-created prevention strategy and then monitor changes over time. This paper reports on the method and outcomes of the baseline survey and demonstrates how the data are presented back to the community.

Design: A community-based survey.

Quality-of-life evaluation in chronic wounds: comparative analysis of three disease-specific questionnaires.

The study directly compared the feasibility and performance of three instruments measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in chronic ulcers: the Freiburg Life Quality Assessment for wounds (FLQA-w), the Cardiff Wound Impact Schedule (CWIS) and the Würzburg Wound Score (WWS). The questionnaires were evaluated in a randomly assigned order in a longitudinal observational study of leg ulcer patients. Psychometric properties (internal consistency, responsiveness and construct validity) were analysed.

Molecular and cellular impact of Psoriasin (S100A7) on the healing of human wounds.

Psoriasin, which is also known as S100A7, is a member of the S100 protein family, a group of calcium-responsive signalling proteins. Psoriasin expression remains high in patients with psoriasis, whereas it is downregulated in patients with invasive breast carcinoma. This observation suggests that this protein may be a notable marker of keratinocyte function and differentiation during wound healing.

Reporting standards of studies and papers on the prevention and management of foot ulcers in diabetes: required details and markers of good quality.

The evidence base for many aspects of the management of foot ulcers in people with diabetes is weak, and good-quality research, especially relating to studies of direct relevance to routine clinical care, is needed. In this paper, we summarise the core details required in the planning and reporting of intervention studies in the prevention and management of diabetic foot ulcers, including studies that focus on off-loading, stimulation of wound healing, peripheral artery disease, and infection. We highlight aspects of trial design, conduct, and reporting that should be taken into account to minimise bias and improve quality.

Contrasting host immuno-inflammatory responses to bacterial challenge within venous and diabetic ulcers.

Within chronic wounds, the relationship between the clinical diagnosis of infection and bacterial/immuno-inflammatory responses is imprecise. This study prospectively examined the interrelationship between clinical, microbiological, and proinflammatory biomarker levels between chronic venous leg ulcers (CVLUs) and diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). Wound swabs and fluids were collected from CVLUs (n = 18) and DFUs (n = 15) and diagnosed clinically as noninfected or infected; and qualitative/quantitative microbiology was performed.

Comparative responsiveness of the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire and the Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire after carpal tunnel release.

Purpose: The literature supports self-administered questionnaire assessment tools for the measurement of outcome after surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Traditional physical measures are less sensitive to clinical changes following carpal tunnel release (CTR) than fully validated designed outcome questionnaires. A number of validated outcome instruments have been compared to determine which is optimal with regard to sensitivity and responsiveness following surgery.

Dressing-related pain in patients with chronic wounds: an international patient perspective.

This cross-sectional international survey assessed patients' perceptions of their wound pain. A total of 2018 patients (57% female) from 15 different countries with a mean age of 68.6 years (SD = 15.

Fibroblast dysfunction is a key factor in the non-healing of chronic venous leg ulcers.

Chronic age-related degenerative disorders, including the formation of chronic leg wounds, may occur due to aging of the stromal tissues and ensuing dysfunctional cellular responses. This study investigated the impact of environmental-driven cellular aging on wound healing by conducting a comprehensive analysis of chronic wound fibroblast (CWF) behavior in comparison with patient-matched healthy skin normal fibroblasts (NF). The dysfunctional wound healing abilities of CWF correlated with a significantly reduced proliferative life span and early onset of senescence compared with NF.

Negative-pressure wound therapy: a snapshot of the evidence.

Topical negative pressure (TNP) is a mode of therapy used to encourage wound healing. It can be used as a primary treatment for chronic/complex wounds or as an adjunct to surgery. Based on the evidence to date, the clinical effectiveness of negative-pressure therapy is still unclear.

Antibiotic prescribing for chronic skin wounds in primary care.

The aim of this study was to describe and quantify systemic antibiotic prescribing for patients with chronic skin wounds presenting at the primary care, nonspecialist setting. Data for 1 year were extracted from a general practice morbidity database comprising approximately 185,000 patients attending family medical practitioners in Wales. Patients with chronic wounds (PCW) were identified using Read Codes and compared with nonwound patients who were randomly selected after matching for age-band, sex, and general practice.

Early diagnosis is vital in the management of squamous cell carcinomas associated with chronic non healing ulcers: a case series and review of the literature.

The association between chronic ulcers and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) is well established. Their clinical presentations, however, are varied, ranging from innocously appearing lesions to overtly exophytic growths. We present a series of cases with heterogeneous clinical presentations and different treatment outcomes.

Imiquimod 5% cream monotherapy for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in situ (Bowen's disease): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial to evaluate the preliminary efficacy and safety of imiquimod 5% cream treatment for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in situ.

Methods: In all, 31 patients with biopsy-proven cutaneous SCC in situ were randomly assigned to placebo (vehicle) (n = 16) or imiquimod 5% cream (n = 15) daily for 16 weeks. Patients were assessed at week 28 for the primary end point, resolution of cutaneous SCC in situ.