alignant Wounds: Caregiver-Determined Clinical Problems

Abstract To determine the clinical problems common to patients with malignant wounds from the caregivers' perspective, knowledgeable health care providers were asked to list clinical problems from one patient with a malignant wound during malignant wound management workshops. The themes were analyzed using descriptive and exploratory analysis. Data were collected from 136 health care providers. A total of 814 concerns were reported. Patients experienced a mean of 6.00 (95% CI 5.6–6.37) clinical problems each. The problem themes were: physical problems (pain, odor, exudate, bleeding, and edema), emotional stress, functional compromise, social concerns, and complications (e.g., fistulas and nutritional deterioration). This survey of caregivers identified common clinical problems among patients with malignant wounds. It provides the theoretical basis for future quantitative research in populations with malignant wounds. The limitations of this study include observer and recall bias, and it would be beneficial to confirm the findings with patient perspectives by examining patients with variable severity of clinical problems and with multiple tumor types.