title: Managing a traumatic wound in a geriatric patient.
abstract: Clinical management of a wound in a geriatric patient requires an understanding of age-related changes in the skin and the knowledge to make appropriate treatment choices. This case study describes clinical assessment and management of a traumatic hip wound in a 75-year-old patient. In addition to addressing his nutritional status by providing supplements, topical wound care preparations, including papain-urea and castor oil/balsam of Peru/trypsin, were used as a conservative approach to address debridement and periwound skin concerns. Extra vigilance is required to assess wounds in geriatric patients to determine proper wound treatment and achieve optimum results. Additional studies to evaluate optimal treatment strategies in the clinical management of traumatic wounds in the geriatric population are needed.
authors.affiliation: Post Acute Rehabilitation Unit, Kennedy Health System, Kennedy Health Care Center, 535 Egg Harbor Road, Sewell, NJ 08080, USA. j.glenn@kennedyhealth.org
authors.forename: Josephine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Glenn
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000368:Aged; D001453:Balsams / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001458:Bandages; D003646:Debridement / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D025981:Hip Injuries / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D018529:Nutritional Support; D010206:Papain / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017592:Skin Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing; D014357:Trypsin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014508:Urea / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014945:Wound Healing; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing*
chemical_list: D001453:Balsams; C025080:Peruvian balsam; D014508:Urea; D014357:Trypsin; D010206:Papain