Hopes for palliative wounds

Wound healing involves complex biochemical cellular events that follow a relatively predictable or expected trajectory. Successful wound management is contingent on i) meticulous assessment and treatment of the underlying cause; ii) establishment of a plan of care that aligns with patients’ expectations, values, and priorities to promote treatment adherence; and iii) provision of optimal local wound care.¹ There are four essential components for local wound care: judicious debridement or desloughing of devitalised tissue, control of infection (bioburden)/prolonged inflammation, and maintenance of moisture balance on wound bed.¹ However, it is not realistic to expect all wounds to achieve complete closure.

Wounds are rendered non-healing due to an array of unique host factors such as inadequate vascular supply or tissue perfusion, medications that interfere with the healing process, and immune-compromised or critically ill status with non-modifiable risk factors (terminal disease, end-stage organ failure and other life-threatening health conditions).²