Holistic care for patients living with chronic wounds

Abstract

Chronic wounds refer to wounds that fail to progress through an orderly and timely sequence of repair, where healing has not been realised in a predictable time frame, i.e. when wounds fail to heal within three months, when the wound’s size hasn’t decreased by 30% within four weeks, when the wound is not 30% smaller after one month and will not heal by week 12.¹ A perception exists that chronic wounds are associated with old age, but every chronic injury has the potential to develop into a chronic wound.² The prevalence of patients living with chronic wounds globally is high. Approximately 120 patients per 100 000 are aged 45-65 years. With increased age, the prevalence increases to more than 800 patients per 100 000 who are aged 75 years and older.³