Assessment tools for the healing of wounds: an integrative review

Abstract

The assessment of wounds in patients requires the selection of appropriate tools; however, it may be difficult to select the tool that is best suited to each case as each tool has a different set of parameters. This study aimed to identify the tools, and their respective parameters, that are used for evaluating wound healing. This integrative review was carried out using the following databasesLiteratura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde, CumulativeIndex to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus.Thirty-five studies were considered; the most commonly used instrument was PUSH, followed by BWAT, DESIGN and DESIGN-R. The most frequently assessed components were size (area, volume, depth), exudate, tissue type, and signs of infection or inflammation. The tools revealed the complexity of both the process and the evaluation of healing. Thus, the study contributes to ensuring the selection of the best tool for each individual case.