Society guideline links: Open wound management

Introduction — 

This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.

The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.

Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Minor wound management" and "Society guideline links: Pressure-induced skin and soft tissue injury".)

International

●International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF): Guidelines on the prevention and management of diabetes-related foot disease (2023)

●Wounds International: International consensus document for the use of wound antiseptics in practice (2023)

●Wounds International: White paper on wound balance – Achieving wound healing with confidence (2023)

●International Wound Infection Institute (IWII): Wound infection in clinical practice – Principles of best practice, third edition (2022)

●Wounds International: Consensus meeting report on incision care and dressing selection in surgical wounds – Findings from a series of international meetings (2022)

●Wounds International: International consensus document on diabetic foot ulcer care in the Asia-Pacific region (2022)

●Wounds International: Best practice recommendations for prevention and management of periwound skin complications (2021)

●Wounds International: Best practice recommendations for holistic strategies to promote and maintain skin integrity (2020)

●Wounds International: International best practice recommendations – Prevention and management of moisture-associated skin damage (MASD) (2020)

●Wounds International: International best practice recommendations for the early identification and prevention of surgical wound complications (2020)

●National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP), European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP), and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance (PPPIA): Prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers/injuries – Clinical practice guideline (2019)

●World Union of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS): Consensus document on wound exudate, effective assessment and management (2019)

●WUWHS: Position document for skin graft donor site management in the treatment of burns and hard-to-heal wounds (2019)

●Wounds International: Consensus document for surgical wound dehiscence – Improving prevention and outcomes (2018)

●Wounds International: Consensus round table meeting – Portable topical oxygen therapy for healing complex wounds (2018)

●WUWHS: Consensus document for the role of dressings in pressure ulcer prevention (2016)

●International Consolidated Venous Ulcer Guideline (ICVUG): Update of the Association of Advanced Wound Care (AAWC) venous ulcer guidelines, 2005 and 2010 (published 2015)

•AAWC: Pressure ulcer guidelines (2013)

●Wounds International: Principles of compression in venous disease – A practitioner's guide to treatment and prevention of venous leg ulcers (2013)

Canada

●Wounds Canada: Best practice recommendations for skin health and wound management (2025)

●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't add extra layers of bedding (sheets, pads) beneath patients on therapeutic surfaces (updated 2020)

United States

●Wound Healing Society (WHS): Guidelines for the treatment of pressure ulcers, 2023 update (published 2024)

●Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN): Lower-extremity wounds due to venous disease, arterial disease, or diabetes mellitus and/or neuropathic disease – Clinical resource guide (2024)

●WHS: Diabetic foot ulcer treatment guidelines, update (2023)

●Wound Healing Foundation (WHF): Chronic wounds – Treatment consensus (2022)

●WOCN: Venous, arterial, and neuropathic lower-extremity wounds − Clinical resource guide (2009, revised 2019)

●WOCN: 2016 guideline for prevention and management of pressure injuries (ulcers) − An executive summary (published 2017)

●Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), and Society for Vascular Medicine (SVM): A clinical practice guideline for the management of diabetic foot (2016)

●WHS: 2014 update on guidelines for arterial ulcers (published 2016)

●WHS: 2015 update on guidelines for venous ulcers (published 2016)

●International Consolidated Venous Ulcer Guideline (ICVUG): Update of the Association of Advanced Wound Care (AAWC) venous ulcer guidelines, 2005 and 2010 (published 2015)

•AAWC: Pressure ulcer guidelines (2013)

Europe

●European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS): Clinical practice guidelines on the management of chronic venous disease of the lower limbs (2022)

●European Wound Management Association (EWMA): Document on antimicrobials and non-healing wounds, an update (2022)

●ESVS: Clinical practice guidelines for the management of chronic venous disease (2015)

United Kingdom

●National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): Medical technologies guidance on UrgoStart for treating diabetic foot ulcers and leg ulcers (2019, updated 2023)

●NICE: Medical technologies guidance on 3C Patch for treating diabetic foot ulcers (2022)

●NICE: Medical technologies guidance on Prontosan for treating acute and chronic wounds (2022)

●NICE: Medical technologies guidance for the VAC Veraflo Therapy system for acute infected or chronic wounds that are failing to heal (2021)

●NICE: Guideline on leg ulcer infection – Antimicrobial prescribing (2020)

●NICE: Guideline on diabetic foot problems − Prevention and management (2015, updated 2019)

●NICE: Medical technologies guidance on the Debrisoft monofilament debridement pad for use in acute or chronic wounds (2014, updated 2019)

●NICE: Quality standard on pressure ulcers (2015)

●NICE: Clinical guideline on pressure ulcers − Prevention and management (2014)

Australia–New Zealand

●Wounds International: International consensus document on diabetic foot ulcer care in the Asia-Pacific region (2022)

●Choosing Wisely Australia: Do not take a swab or use antibiotics for the management of a leg ulcer without clinical infection (reviewed 2016)

Japan

●[In Japanese] Japanese Dermatological Association (JDA): Guidelines for wounds, pressure ulcers, and burns – 1: General wounds, 3rd edition (2023)

●[In Japanese] JDA: Guidelines for wounds, pressure ulcers, and burns – 2: Pressure ulcer treatment, 3rd edition (2023)

●[In Japanese] JDA: Guidelines for wounds, pressure ulcers, and burns – 3: Treatment of diabetic skin ulcers and gangrene, 3rd edition (2023)

●[In Japanese] JDA: Guidelines for wounds, pressure ulcers, and burns – 4: Treatment of skin ulcers associated with collagen disease and vasculitis, 3rd edition (2023)

●[In Japanese] JDA: Guidelines for wounds, pressure ulcers, and burns – 5: Treatment of leg ulcers and varicose veins, 3rd edition (2023)

●[In English] Wounds International: International consensus document on diabetic foot ulcer care in the Asia-Pacific region (2022)

●[In Japanese] Japanese Society of Pressure Ulcers (JSPU): Guidelines for the prevention and management of pressure ulcers, 5th edition (2022)