Aims To investigate patient and carer experiences of care at two interdisciplinary specialist services for the management of diabetes-related foot ulceration (DFU).

Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients experiencing DFU who attended a minimum of four appointments over three months, and their carers who attended at least two appointments. Purposive sampling was used to identify patients based on: gender; employment status; cultural and linguistic background; carer support; end-stage renal disease; and mental health diagnosis. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.   

Results We invited 25 patients to participate. Thirteen consented and were interviewed, along with three carers. Data sufficiency was achieved. Three themes and two subthemes were identified: confident in care; care considered comprehensive (subthemes: education benefits and access is complex); and DFU is life changing.

Conclusions This study adds to a limited body of previous evidence regarding DFU care experiences. The importance of feeling confident and care being comprehensive were highlighted. New insights were gained, including that receiving care for and living with DFU are part of the same experience which cannot be separated. These findings may guide interdisciplinary service planning and future research to improve care for people living with DFU.

Background Community pharmacists play a vital role in primary care, including minor wound management. However, their formal training and involvement in wound care in Saudi Arabia remains underexplored.

Objective This study aimed to assess the current practices, knowledge and training needs related to wound care among community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia.

Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among licensed community pharmacists across several regions in Saudi Arabia during September 2024. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics, wound care experience, confidence levels and preferred training methods. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were applied.

Results Of the 203 respondents, most were male (71.9%) and had 1–3 years of experience. While 62% encountered wound cases sometimes or rarely, 96% reported no formal wound care training. Pharmacists expressed interest in certified workshops and practical courses. A significant association was observed between training and confidence in providing wound care recommendations (p<0.01).

Conclusion Community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia are moderately involved in wound care but lack structured training. Enhancing their role through interprofessional collaboration and targeted education may improve patient-centered wound management.

Aim This scoping review aims to identify and map current primary studies relating to key terminology, definitions and measurement methods used in chronic wound research. The review of chronic wound research terminology from the studies will identify areas of consistency and inconsistency in definitions and measurement methods of key terms in chronic wound research.

Method This review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews guidelines. The electronic databases: MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, Cochrane Library, and the JBI Library will be searched using an agreed search strategy. Unpublished and grey literature sources will also be searched. Data from studies included will be extracted using a standardised form and the findings will be narratively synthesised.

Discussion This review will be the first stage of developing consensus on research terms by providing a detailed understanding of chronic wound research terminology, addressing inconsistencies in definitions and measures. By mapping range, use, and definitions of key terms, the findings aim to provide information from which to standardise terminology, enhance communication, and improve both research and clinical outcomes in wound care.

Aims This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of polyhexanide or polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) for management of various wound types compared to other dressings.

Methods A literature search was conducted in journal databases including PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, CENTRAL, and Clinicaltrials.gov. We included intervention studies that evaluated the use of polyhexanide topical preparations in wound healing until November 2024. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane Risk-of-Bias tool 2 (RoB2) and ROBINS-I. Quantitative analysis was carried out using Review Manager version 5.4.

Results Eighteen studies were included, comprising randomised controlled trials and cohort studies with sample sizes ranging from 12 to 146 patients. Five studies were eligible for meta-analysis. Healing time was significantly faster in polyhexanide group compared to controls (MD –14.84 days; 95% CI –31.30, 1.62; p=0.08). While there was no significant difference (Odds ratio 0.76; 95%, CI 0.23, 2.48; p=0.65), the bacterial burden reduction was higher in PHMB-treated wounds (p=0.04).

Conclusion Polyhexanide demonstrated significantly faster healing time in treatment of various types of wounds. It also had multiple advantages, such as its transparent properties, antimicrobial activity, and reduced pain compared to other treatments. Further studies may be needed to assess long-term efficacy and safety of PHMB for various wound types.

The continuing development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health threat characterised by the ability of microorganisms to withstand the effects of antimicrobial agents. AMR is of such global concern that the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a global strategy called Antimicrobial Stewardship to combat this threat. This article presents a scoping review designed to identify what impact the introduction of the AMS has had on working practice. The results of the literature search identified 2458 potential articles, 13 articles identified from other sources, thus a total of 2471 articles to screen. Following screening 120 articles were identified for full-text review and finally 80 articles were retrieved and included in the narrative review. All studies indicated the introduction of specific AMS guidelines and/or protocols that affected treatment regimens with a reduction in surgical site infections and a reduction in antimicrobial resistance development being key clinical outcomes of the introduction of antimicrobial stewardship programmes. Forty percent of studies specifically indicating training/education and 43.8% studies indicating some form of audit/feedback as part of the AMSPs. Additionally, antimicrobial usage was reported in most studies resulting in a de-escalation of antimicrobial use (e.g., intravenous vs. oral, broad- or narrow-spectrum), changes in antimicrobial dosage or duration 25.0% and 46.3% respectively. Overall, this review demonstrates that implementation of AMS does have several positive clinical patient outcomes.