Compression therapy in leg ulcer management

Led ulcer management is an important consideration for all nurses involved in the care of older people. Non-specialists in tissue viability might not always be aware of the evidence base for best practice. The authors examine the effectiveness of multi-layer and single-layer long or short stretch bandage systems in leg ulcer management.

Pinch grafting for chronic venous leg ulcers in general practice

Twenty-five patients with chronic venous leg ulcers were treated in general practice by pinch grafting. Fifteen of the ulcers (60%) were completely healed one year after grafting. Prior to grafting 19 patients (76%) complained of daily pain in the ulcer. These patients experienced complete relief from pain after grafting. Pinch grafting is a simple, safe and effective therapy when applied in a domiciliary environment.

The influence of providing perches and string on activity levels, fearfulness and leg health in commercial broiler chickens

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of providing environmental enrichment in the form of perches and string on the behaviour and welfare of commercial broiler chickens. Houses containing ~23 000 broiler chickens were assigned to one of four treatments in a 2×2 factorial design. Treatments involved two levels of access to perches (P) (present (24/house) ‘+P’ or absent ‘−P’) and two levels of access to string (S) (present (24/house) ‘+S’ or absent ‘−S’). All houses contained windows, and 30 straw bales were provided from day 10 of the rearing cycle. Treatments were applied in one of four houses on a single farm, and were replicated over four production cycles. Behaviour and leg health were observed in weeks 3 to 5 of the rearing cycle. Production performance and environmental parameters were also measured. There was an interaction between perches and age in the percentage of birds observed lying, with higher percentages of birds observed lying in the +P treatment than in the −P treatment during weeks 4 and 5. There was also a significant interaction between string and age in the percentage of birds observed in locomotion, with higher percentages observed in locomotion in the −S treatment than in the +S treatment during weeks 4 and 5. There was also an interaction between string and age in average gait scores, with lower gait scores in the +S treatment than in the −S treatment during weeks 3 and 5 but not within week 4. Daytime observations showed that perches and strings were used frequently, with one bout of perching occurring approximately every 80 s/perch, and one bout of pecking at string occurring every 78 s/string on average. There was a significant effect of age on use of perches (P<0.001) and string (P<0.001), with perching peaking during week 5 and string pecking peaking during week 3. We conclude that commercial broilers in windowed houses with access to straw bales display an interest in additional enrichment stimuli in the form of perches and string, and therefore that these stimuli have the potential to improve welfare. In addition, provision of string as a pecking device appeared to positively influence walking ability. However, this effect was numerically small, was only shown in certain weeks and was not reflected in the other leg health measure (latency to lie). The results also showed an apparent negative effect of string and perches on the activity levels of birds (recorded away from the immediate vicinity of these enrichments) towards the end of the production cycle. These results emphasise the need for further research into optimum design and layout of enrichment stimuli for modern broilers in windowed houses to ensure that their provision leads to clear welfare benefits.

The effect of level of straw bale provision on the behaviour and leg health of commercial broiler chickens

This study aimed to assess the effect of the number of straw bales (SBs) provided on the behaviour and leg health of commercial broiler chickens. Houses containing ~23 000 broiler chickens were assigned to one of two treatments: (1) access to 30 SBs per house, ‘30SB’ or (2) access to 45 SB per house, ‘45SB’. This equated to bale densities of 1 bale/44 m2 and 1 bale/29 m2 of floor space within houses, respectively. Treatments were applied in one of two houses on a commercial farm, and were replicated over six production cycles. Both houses had windows and were also artificially lit. Behaviour was observed in weeks 3 to5 of the cycle. This involved observations of general behaviour and activity, gait scores (0: perfect to 5: unable to walk) and latency to lie (measured in seconds from when a bird had been encouraged to stand). Production performance and environmental parameters were also measured. SB density had no significant effect on activity levels (P>0.05) or walking ability (P>0.05). However, the average latency to lie was greater in 30SB birds compared with 45SB birds (P<0.05). The incidence of hock burn and podo dermatitis, average BW at slaughter and levels of mortality and culling were unaffected by SB density (P>0.05). The results from this study suggest that increasing SB levels from 1 bale/44 m2 to 1 bale/29 m2 floor space does not lead to significant improvements in the welfare of commercial broiler chickens in windowed houses.