Unna boot placement at discharge

[mmcintosh]

There is a question in our facility whether or not unna boots should be placed on a patient the day of discharge. I have researched this topic without success. Anyone have any suggestions as to why this should not be done. Thanks

[kiszi, RN]

If the staff member is competent in the application of the unna boot and the patient has been assessed to ensure that it is indicated, I think it would be OK. However, it would be important to arrange follow up care in the form of a home health nurse or outpatient visits, since unna boots are a specialized dressing that require training to apply correctly. That said, I have only done one unna boot in the inpatient setting since most doctors at my facility are reluctant to order such treatments in house and prefer the patient go to a wound clinic after discharge.