Impact of Remote Wound Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created the urgent need for telehealth to play a larger role in wound care. The high prevalence of comorbidities in the wound care population also makes them more susceptible to COVID-19 infection and complications, and thus more at-risk when accessing in-person care.Objective: Here, we describe our findings on the use of a patient-facing wound care app as an innovative solution in remote wound assessment and management of patient’s wounds.

Process: The case of three patients with chronic wounds seen in-person during 2020 and who adopted the use of a mobile app to securely share calibrated images of their wounds as well as to communicate with their doctors is presented.

Outcomes: Patient 1 is a 57-year old diabetic individual with arterial insufficiency and a foot ulcer. Between June 2020 and January 2021, wound closure was monitored using the app. Its use avoided several in-person consultations and allowed the individual to self-isolate while maintaining continuity of wound care. It also served for managing 2 other wounds that developed during the follow-up period. Patient 2 is a 68-year old diabetic individual with a plantar ulcer. Between November 2020 and May 2021, the patient was followed up using the app until achieving full wound closure. In August 2021, the patient shared an image suggestive of cellulitis, which prompted an in-person evaluation and management of the infection without the need of attending to the emergency room. Finally, patient 3, is an 19-year old individual with lupus erythematosus who developed COVID-19 infection in February 2021. As part of the course of the infection, she developed ulcers in the tip of the fingers of the right hand. The use of the app allowed her to share images of her fingers with her doctor to monitor wound progression and guide treatment during her isolation.

Conclusion: Use of a patient-facing mobile app designed to monitor and manage wounds resulted in numerous benefits. Incorporation of this technology as part of a novel telemedicine strategy promises to have an extensive impact on care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.