Authors (including presenting author) :
Leung WT, Ho SKS, Chu KM, Kng PLC
Affiliation :
Department of Medicine and Geriatric, Ruttonjee & Tang Shiu Kin Hospitals (RTSKH)
Introduction :
Current traditional methods of wound measurement like using a measurement tape are imprecise due to possible tracing technique and user variability, and it is time consuming. The patient contact during measurement may induce infection risk and patient discomfort. RTSKH recently introduced a 3D wound camera (3D WC) in geriatric setting. With computer 3D technology, it allows automatically measurement of wound tissue characteristics, length, width, depth, surface area, and volume. The non- patient contact measurement promotes better patient experience.
Objectives :
To evaluate the efficacy and reliability of the 3D wound camera against current wound measurement and documentation method.
Methodology :
A small scale study was designed to compare the efficacy and reliability of the 3D WC with the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) on wound measurement and documentation. This study consisted of three parts. Six wounds of geriatric patients (selected by convenience sampling) were being assessed during two-week period in November, 2020. Four nurses were divided into two groups, A & B, as raters of this study.
Part I. To evaluate the efficacy of 3D WC
Group A performed wound measurement and documentation by using the 3D WC; while Group B used SOP, i.e. traditional ruler method and hand- written documentation for the same wound. The average wound measurement and photo record time for each group were calculated for comparison.
Part II. To evaluate the reliability of 3D WC
Two raters of Group A measured the wound with 3D WC individually and the difference in wound parameters measured by them were calculated; while Group B did the same way by SOP. The average of total difference in wound parameters measured by 2 groups then were being compared.
Part III. To evaluation the documentation quality of 3D WC
A survey consisted of seven ranking questions (score from 1-5 with scored 5 representing the most satisfaction) was performed to collect comments on the 3D wound trend report from different professionals. Total seven nurses and one physician were being interviewed.
Result & Outcome :
The wound measurement speed of 3D WC group was not up to SOP group (3D WC: 72.7 seconds/ wound; SOP: 67.2 seconds/wound). However, Part II result of higher inter-rater reliability on wound measurement among 3D WC group showed that the 3D WC was able to capture more precise and objective, reproducible 3D wound measurements (3D WC: 14.3cm difference/ wound; SOP: 30.8cm difference/ wound). The overall feedback of the 3D WC documentation quality shown in Part III was positive, with score ranged from 3.38-4.41/5. Results highlighted the possibility that 3D WC could be an option for more accurate, reproducible wound measurement in clinical settings. The automatic documentation and wound trend report of 3D wound camera allowed easy tracking of wound progress and better communication on wound condition and management among health care professionals.
