Acute or chronic? Pitfalls of using standard criteria to define wounds.
Specific terms such as infection, odour and exudate may be helpful for informing the course of patient care. However, classification of wounds as acute or chronic, although frequently used in practice, is a less useful way of characterising wounds. This paper challenges us to review the way we think about the types of wounds that are generally classified as either acute or chronic.
Fletcher
Jacqui
J
School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Hertfordshire.
D000208:Acute Disease; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D012883:Skin Ulcer / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology