Journal of Community Nursing

11 / 20

JCN 2015 ??
However, newer products have
been introduced. The Debrisoft
monofilemnt fibre debridement pad
makes mechanical debridement
easier and atraumatic.
WHAT IS DEBRISOFT?
Debrisoft is a single-use debridement
pad with patented monofilament
fibre technology. Each pad has 18
million monofilament fibres cut to a
specific angle and length. The fibres
quickly lift up debris, superficial
slough and exudate and bind it
within the pad. Debrisoft removes the
barriers to healing and leaves the area
clear and promotes the development
of healthy tissue. The pad is soft and
conformable and will not damage any
new granulation or epithelial cells.
This means that Debrisoft is
a safe and effective method of
debriding wounds that contain
superficial slough and debris,
including leg ulcers, pressure ulcers,
diabetic foot ulcers, trauma wounds
and postoperative wounds healing
by secondary intention. Debrisoft is
also very effective in the removal of
hyperkeratosis from the skin.
However, above all Debrisoft is
easy to use, making it convenient
for both specialist and general
nurses, patients and carers to use
when cleaning a wound, enabling
improved wound assessment.
Debrisoft is a debridement tool
which can be used for the cleaning
and debridement of wounds and
skin at each dressing change. It
normally takes just a few minutes
and in some cases may only need
to be used once. It can be used in
a variety of settings including the
patients own home and where
appropriate may be used by the
patient which encourages self-care.
With increasing amounts of
care being provided in or nearer
to patients’homes (Department of
Health [DH], 2009), Debrisoft can
play a crucial role in enabling patients
to access best practice wound
assessment from generalist nurses,
rather than requiring a specialist.
In simple terms, Debrisoft offers
clinicians a new way to gently
should not be afraid to refer on if
unsure about this. There are a range
of different debridement methods
available and it is incumbent upon
nurses to keep their knowledge of
these up to date to provide patients
with the best available evidence-
based care. JCN
REFERENCES
Collarte A, Lara L (2011) Evaluation
of a new debridement method for
sloughy wounds and hyperkeratotic
skin for a non-specialist setting. Poster
Presentation at EWMA Conference,
Brussels
DH (2009) Transforming Community
Services: ambition, action, achievement.
Transforming services for acute care closer
to home. DH, London
Gray D, Acton C, Chadwick P (2011)
Consensus guidance for the use of
debridement techniques in the UK.
Wounds UK 7(1): 77–84
NICE (2014) The Debrisoft monofilament
debridement pad for use in acute or
chronic wounds. Available at:
org.uk/guidance/mtg17 (accessed 25
May, 2015)
Wounds UK (2008) Best Practice Statement.
Optimising Wound Care. Available at:
content_8950.pdf (accessed 25 May, 2015)
debride the wound bed, aiding
visualisation and therefore accurate
assessment. The soft fleecy side of
the pad should be fully moistened
with 20–40ml (1–2 egg cupfuls)
of tap water or saline. With gentle
pressure, as if exfoliating, use the
soft fleecy side of the moistned
Debrisoft in a circular motion on the
wound or in long sweeping strokes
on the skin.
This cleansing and debriding
action helps to quickly reveal the
condition of the wound bed and
surrounding skin, effectively lifting,
binding and removing dead tissue
and other factors that may obscure
the state of the wound, such as
devitilised tissue and wound debris
(Collarte and Lara, 2011).
CONCLUSION
This session set out to examine how
debridement is crucial to accurate
wound assessment, allowing the
nurse to properly view the wound, as
well as removing necrotic tissue that
may encourage infection.
As mentioned above it is
important that nurses debride
according to their competency, and
Debrisoft before and after
Below are a number of clinical photographs showing wounds before (left),
and after (right) the use of Debrisoft.
Before After