NURSING Report: Evidence-Based Strategies for Diabetic Foot Ulcers

This report addresses the critical issue of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and explores evidence-based nursing strategies for their effective management. It begins with a background on DFUs, highlighting their prevalence, impact on patient outcomes, and associated costs. The report formulates a PICO question to guide the investigation of effective nursing interventions, including blood glucose control, infection minimization, wound dressing, and debridement. It then synthesizes evidence from various research studies, emphasizing the importance of patient education, hand hygiene, debridement techniques, and antimicrobial dressings. The justification for the research topic is based on the high morbidity, mortality, and economic burden associated with DFUs. The report outlines the search strategy used to retrieve relevant research papers from databases such as Google Scholar and Medline, including specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The chosen research article by Ogrin, Houghton, and Thompson (2013) is critically appraised using the CASP checklist. The findings highlight the benefits of a multidisciplinary team approach, emphasizing the need for effective blood glucose management, wound care, medication management, and nutritional support. The highest level of evidence is identified as the study by Ogrin et al. (2015), a longitudinal observational study with 83 participants. The report concludes by discussing the implications of the critical appraisal, emphasizing the positive outcomes achieved through a multidisciplinary team specialized in diabetic foot management and providing recommendations for improved patient care. The report also mentions the use of techniques such as debridement of dead cells from the wound surface, antibiotic medication, foot baths, and frequent dressing changes to accelerate the recovery process.