Abstract
Background: Reliable, consistent, and accurate wound description and documentation are essential wound assessment components. This wound assessment provides wound-care specialists adequate information for clinical decision-making regarding local wound-care. One of the unique characteristics on the wound edge of a diabetic foot ulcer（DFU）is a red ring. However, its morphological characteristics and risk factors are still unclear.
Purpose: This study aimed to describe the red ring characteristics and explore factors related to its occurrence.
Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of two cohort studies regarding DFU wound healing at a wound-care clinic in Indonesia. Using the data of 35 patients with DFU from two studies, we conducted a qualitative descriptive study and a cross-sectional study. The qualitative study was conducted using morphoqualitative analysis. In the cross-sectional study, we compared the patients’ and wounds’ data between with and without a red ring.
Results: A total of 10 of 35 patients with DFU had red lines on the wound edges. Bright red lines appeared on the wound edge along with slough. Regarding the factors related to red lines, scores of DMIST depth, maceration, inflammation or infection, and tissue type of wound bed were significantly more severe in patients with DFU with red lines than in those patients with DFU without red lines.
Conclusion: The red line occurrence on the DFU wound edge might be related to local wound infection. Thus, nurses should pay more attention to the red lines of the DFU wound edge to prevent wound deterioration.
