WHS

WHS Session C: Confounding Variables in Wound Healing Response

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Moderator(s)

Ardeshir Bayat, BSc (Hons), MB, BS, PhD

Professor, Director of MRC Wound Healing Unit
University of Cape Town
Cape Town, Western Cape
Angela Gibson, MD, PhD, FACS

Burn, Trauma, Acute Care Surgeon and Medical Director of Wound Healing Services
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Madison, Wisconsin

Speaker(s)

Peter M. Abadir, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics), Electrical & Computer Engineering
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD

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Meghan Brennan, MD

Assistant Professor
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI

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Disclosure(s):

Ardeshir Bayat, BSc (Hons), MB, BS, PhD: No financial relationships to disclose

Angela Gibson, MD, PhD, FACS: No relevant disclosure to display

Peter M. Abadir, MD: No financial relationships to disclose

Meghan Brennan, MD: No financial relationships to disclose

Wound healing and response to treatments can vary substantially between individuals leading to heterogeneity of outcomes. Understanding the underlying variables that affect wound healing may allow wound treatments to be more closely tailored to the individual to address barriers in healing. Chronic wounds in older individuals are among the most devastating and difficult to treat age-related ailments and are strongly intertwined with a sense of self-worth and quality of life. As the population ages, a subset of older adults is disproportionately vulnerable to developing chronic wounds and is at especially high risk for iatrogenic complications with wound care interventions. In these frail older individuals, wounds are usually caused by decline in more than one domain of function, in contrast to younger individuals. In this session, we will review the underpinnings of poor wound healing in frail older adults and discuss approach to older adults with wounds including comprehensive risk and functional assessment, identification of red flags, medications, special considerations for management of wounds in frailty. Furthermore, disparities in access to health care can impact outcomes and complications. We will also explore the effects of race, rurality, and socioeconomic status on wound healing responses in this session.