Title: Is it worth your time? Developing a skin tear treatment protocol to improve patient outcomes and maintain cost control

The research study reviews a cost analysis of a 400 bed combined center for a standardized skin tear treatment protocol to include a treatment product that would promote faster healing, save nursing time, and be cost comparable.

Three different treatment products, non-adherent composite dressing*, soft silicone dressing*, super absorptive gelling polymer polyurethane foam*, were compared to promote healing being cost considerate.

Quantitative data evaluated included: healing rates, nursing time, and product cost. Qualitative data evaluated included patient's feedback and nursing preference of dressing products. Interventions were already in place to reduce the occurrence of skin tears that included lift protocols, staff training, lotion to moisturize skin, and arm/leg sleeve protectors.

Skin tears incidence is high, on average affecting 10% of the patient population.

The skin tear treatments were noted to be time encompassing of the nursing staff, and the skin tears seemed to have slow healing rates, extending past six weeks with current treatment protocol using adherent composite dressings.

This case series presentation includes comparative data from the previous wound care treatment products and timelines associated with the healing rates while utilizing these products.  The cases presented in this poster presentation demonstrated that the super absorbent gelling polymer foam dressing decreased healing time from an average of 12 days to 7 days.  There was also a significant cost savings noted,  the non-adherent composite dressing cost averaged $16.42 per skin tear, the soft silicone dressing cost averaged $23.77 per skin tear, the super absorbent gelling polymer foam dressing cost averaged $5.55 per skin tear. The evaluation of the skin tear protocol  identified a product that not only demonstrated improved healing rates of the skin tears, but also proved to be a more cost effective treatment plan. An additional benefit was a significant reduction in the nursing time required to provide treatments.