Analysis of Moisture and Sebum of the Skin for Monitoring Wound Healing in Older Nursing Home Residents

Pressure ulcers are a common problem among older nursing home residents. Wound healing monitoring in these older residents causes intensive significant workload for nurses. Moisture and sebum of the skin are critical factors during wound healing which can observations for nurses quick and handy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between moisture and sebum of the skin during wound healing in older people. The data of moisture and sebum was observed for four times in sequence biweekly from the sacrum region of eighteen subjects. Based on the wound healing status, the subjects were grouped into the wound healing, wound non-healing, and non-wound groups. The wound area was calculated by manually tracing the wound area in captured images using the Image-J. Ulcer area were median correlation with moisture (r = .61) and sebum (r = −.60) in the wound healing group. The moisture was also significantly correlated with sebum (r = .89, p < .05) in the wound non-healing group. Increasing moisture and decreasing sebum may be associated with wound healing among older nursing home residents. Our findings showed that moisture and sebum of human skin can be used to predict wound healing status.