Expert panel publishes Wound Hygiene consensus

24 February 2020

Convatec Group Plc (“Convatec”), a global medical products and technologies company, today welcomes the publication of an international expert panel consensus addressing the challenge of biofilm to improve outcomes in hard-to-heal wounds.¹

Despite biofilm being widely documented and understood to be the main cause of delayed healing in hard-to-heal wounds, many healthcare practitioners still wait for overt signs of infection, delayed healing or other complications before intervening. Convatec brought together an international group of leading wound care practitioners who devised the concept of Wound Hygiene; a simple 4-step regime which is based on the premise that just as we follow basic, essential, repetitive hygiene activities every day by washing our hands, brushing our teeth and showering, so should we apply basic hygiene to wounds.² Wound Hygiene has now been fully described as a core, non-negotiable component of wound care that comprises cleansing of the wound and periwound, wound debridement, refashioning of the wound edges and application of an antimicrobial dressing; and can be safely undertaken by both specialist and generalist healthcare practitioners in any setting.¹

“It is clear that the wound care puzzle is missing a piece.” says Christine Murphy, PhD, RN, WOC(C), The Ottawa Hospital Limb Preservation Centre and Chair of the International Wound Hygiene Panel. “Evidence is mounting that this piece is biofilm management, which is increasingly recognised as a factor in a multitude of chronic disease conditions. Therefore, it may be time to rethink what ‘best practice’ entails, particularly in wounds that are colonised by biofilm or infected.”

“The increasing number of hard-to-heal wounds and associated antibiotic usage are a huge concern for the healthcare system.” said David Shepherd, President and COO, Global Advanced Wound Care at Convatec. “We welcome the introduction of Wound Hygiene as it was developed by experts to help all wound care practitioners address the challenge of biofilm by better preparing wounds for healing and making appropriate product choices in to reduce infection rates, accelerate healing and improve patient outcomes in hard-to-heal-wounds.”

To learn more about Wound Hygiene please visit  www.woundhygiene.com

1. Murphy C, Atkin L, Swanson T, Tachi M, Tan YK, Vega de Ceniga M, Weir D, Wolcott R. International consensus document. Defying hard-to-heal wounds with an early antibiofilm intervention strategy: wound hygiene. J Wound Care 2020;29(Suppl 3b):S1-28

2. Murphy C, Atkin L, Dissemond J, Hurlow J, Tan YK, Apelqvist J, James G, Salles N, Wu J, Tachi M, Wolcott R. Defying hard-to-heal wounds with an early antibiofilm intervention strategy: “wound hygiene.” J Wound Care 2019;28:818–22

For more information please call:  Charles Ryland/Chris Lane/Vicky Hayns at Buchanan +44 (0)207 466 5000

About Convatec

Convatec is a global medical products and technologies company focused on therapies for the management of chronic conditions, with leading market positions in advanced wound care, ostomy care, continence and critical care, and infusion devices. Our products provide a range of clinical and economic benefits including infection prevention, protection of at-risk skin, improved patient outcomes and reduced total cost of care.