This issue of Ostomy Wound Management contains three original contributions that aim to increase understanding of currently available medical device technologies. The concerns addressed range from safety (pulsatile lavage) to the pros and cons of use (hyperbaric oxygen) to factors that should be considered when making appropriate product selections (support surfaces). At first glance, clinicians may wonder how this information might affect their practice until they realize these articles all contain crucial, fundamental guidance on providing safe and effective care. ... continue reading about Editor’s Opinion: Using Our Devices to Weigh In on Devices

  Traditionally, foam dressings are composed of polymer solutions, often polyurethane, with small open cells capable of holding fluid. Absorption depends on the composition and thickness of the foam. Some are layered or impregnated with other materials and may have an adhesive border or a film covering. ConvaTec’s (Skillman, NJ) new AQUACEL® Foam Dressings feature sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) Hydrofiber® technology and are available as nonadhesive or with a skin-friendly silicone adhesive.... continue reading about Progress in Practice: Pressure Ulcer Management Using Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose Hydrofiber® Foam Dressings

  In early February, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an alarming study¹ in which researchers concluded that, without a doubt, America’s baby boomers — the generation born in the two decades after the end of World War II — are less healthy than their parents’ generation. Lead author and family practice physician Dana King and his colleagues at the West Virginia University School of Medicine used data from the federally funded National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to compare the answers of people who were 46 to 64 years old between 1988 and 1994 to those of baby boomers in the same age range between the years 2007 and 2010. The two population groups were similar demographically except for culture and race; non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics represented a slightly higher percentage in the 2007 and 2010 period, reflective of the overall shift in US population. ... continue reading about Continence Coach: Fitter, Not Fatter