Terminal ulcers in end-of-life care: a scoping review

In the final stage of life, the skin may fail leading to the development of terminal ulcers. These ulcers are considered unavoidable, since they occur despite all pressure-relieving interventions being implemented and the best quality of care being provided. However, they are often misdiagnosed as pressure injuries, since healthcare professionals are not always adequately prepared for this topic. Thus, effective palliative care and palliative wound care is not provided and prevalence data is missed, despite it being considered a solid indicator of the quality of nursing care. This work aims to clarify the concept of the unavoidability of these wounds, understand the terminology used and describe what is currently known about diagnostic criteria and assessment tools, prevention, management and aetiology of these wounds as well as clinicians’ understanding of the phenomenon. To achieve these goals a scoping review will be performed, following Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. What researchers expect to achieve is a better comprehension of the phenomenon and of the areas where further research is needed.