The risk of developing an intraoperatively acquired pressure ulcer (IAPU), which is recognized as a significant complication of deep tissue injury occurrence, is associated with duration of surgery and patient positioning. There is a strong association between hypothermia, tissue viability, and surgical site infections; however, the relationship between hypothermia and pressure ulcers has not been fully explored. We examined the incidence of pressure ulcers in surgical patients and determined that there is a relationship between maintaining perioperative normothermia and a reduction in IAPU development. We used a retrospective, explanatory, nonexperimental design, and we fit a binary logistic model to the data. This study shows that patients at higher risk for developing an IAPU include those who are critically ill, have a low Braden Scale skin assessment score, are thin, and are male with at least a 1° F (1.8° C) drop in temperature. These are important risks for perioperative nurses to take into account during care of surgical patients. More perioperative research is needed to identify ways to reduce risk, provide close assessment of high-risk patients, and implement the identified risk-reduction strategies.

Hospitals use sitters as an alternative to reduce patient falls. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a sitter reduction program by examining the differences between sitter use and falls in an acute care hospital. Findings indicate that a significant decrease in sitter use and falls remained constant. Reducing sitter use is possible without significantly increasing fall rates.

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Findings support the use of the LACE index as a practical tool to identify patients at risk for readmission.