Differentiating between red legs and cellulitis and reviewing treatment options.

Red legs (RL) is a chronic inflammatory condition often misdiagnosed as cellulitis. Antibiotic therapy is not required and does not resolve the symptoms. The main causes of RL are chronic dermatological and venous disease, including chronic oedema. Raising awareness of this condition among health professionals could prevent misdiagnosis and unnecessary costly and potentially harmful antibiotic therapy. The aim of this paper is to highlight the differential diagnoses and management of red legs, and the author also includes an example through a case history.

Developing a nurse-led integrated 'red legs' service.

This project was developed to set up a nurse-led service based on the needs of patients diagnosed with 'red legs'. These patients are often wrongly admitted into hospital for treatment of cellulitis. Representatives from the specialties involved in caring for those individuals with red legs were invited to participate with patients to create a stakeholder group whose purpose was to develop integrated care pathways focused on referral criteria, diagnostics and treatment to inform a new nurse-led service. There was a commitment to utilising a number of facilitation techniques and practice-development methods in the progression of the project with the support of the Foundation of Nursing Studies. Much of the prescribed care can be carried out by the patients at home and only 25% patients have required a follow-up appointment within the new service. The service has now been fully commissioned and a secondment opportunity has been developed to lead the new service. Significant savings have been demonstrated and regular revision of the integrated care pathways with all groups, including the patients, will take place.

Linear scleroderma: a Neuman nursing perspective.

Although quite a rare pediatric disease, linear scleroderma (LS), a chronic disease, may leave scarring and may have devastating effects on a child and family. This article provides an overview of the disease, presents a case history of a boy with LS, and discusses how nurses and other health-team members assisted the child and family in managing the illness. The description of the nursing care is based on the Neuman systems model and on the nursing diagnoses of fear, disturbed self-concept, and impaired physical mobility.