Peristomal skin trouble

Abstract

Peristomal skin trouble, also called peristomal skin complications, is the most common stoma-related complication. Peristomal skin trouble not only makes stoma management difficult, causing symptoms such as itching and pain that impair patients’ quality of life, but also increases the financial burden due to the increased frequencies of ostomy appliance changes and readmissions. Without proper care in the early stages of peristomal skin trouble, it can easily become severe, not only causing physical pain, but often resulting in the inability to wear an ostomy appliance. Therefore, it is important to understand the risk factors for peristomal skin trouble and to detect it in the early stages to prevent its worsening. In addition, it is important to establish a stoma care and continuous follow-up system that provides reliable self-care guidance and social life-oriented stoma care. In this review article, we provide an overview of peristomal skin trouble, including its definition and pathophysiology, incidence and risk factors, appropriate stoma creation techniques for its prevention, assessment methods for its prevention and management, the effectiveness of assessment tools in the hospital setting, treatment options, and the importance of a team approach to care.