Stressing the dressing: Assessing stress during wound care in real-time using wearable sensors

This pilot study shows that patients with DFU experience moderate to high stress while visiting a wound clinic, which may negatively impact wound healing outcomes. In particular, the highest stressful condition was during wound dressing change, which may be related to painful dressing or perception of pain. Further investigation is required to explore association between quantified stress and outcomes of wound healing. In addition, future studies need to explore benefit of stress management in enhancing the outcomes of wound healing in patients with diabetes.