Amputation-free Home Management of Infected Lower Extremity Pressure Ulcer through Shared Decision-making: Enhancing the Quality of Life and Highlighting Societal Significance in Home Care

Abstract

Home healthcare is important for allowing patients to live their lives. However, home-care bedridden patients often experience pressure ulcers in the lower extremities, which can lead to life-threatening infections requiring decisions on the need for amputation. We herein report a patient with an infected lower-limb pressure ulcer with a history of spinal injury. The patient, his family, and the home-care physician repeatedly shared decision-making to deliver home-based treatment instead of amputation. Administration of wound dressing, AQUACEL^® Ag, led to complete epithelialization. Such shared decision-making and dressing were feasible in a home-care setting and broadened its scope.