Decubitus Ulcers

Abstract

Malnutrition, poor circulation (hypoperfusion), and underlying diseases that impair mobility should be recognized if present and then treated, and accompanying manifestations, such as pain, should be treated symptomatically. Over the patient's further course, the feasibility, implementation, and efficacy of ulcer-preventing measures should be repeatedly re-assessed and documented, so that any necessary changes can be made. Risk factors for the development of decubitus ulcers should be assessed at the time of the physician's first contact with an immobile patient, or as soon as the patient's condition deteriorates; this is a prerequisite for timely prevention. Once the risks have been assessed, therapeutic measures should be undertaken on the basis of the patient's individual risk profile, with an emphasis on active encouragement of movement and passive relief of pressure through frequent changes of position.

Nurse Continuity and Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcers

“…This study also used a very conservative PU definition (prevalence = 0.7% versus 5-10% 28 in published research) as we selected a single label, NIC: Pressure Ulcer Care, to increase our certainty that included cases reflected only HAPUs. Expanding our definition to include other labels in the HANDS database such as NIC: Pressure Management would have increased our case count by 1,000 (prevalence = 2.1%) but without further study it is unclear that this less specific term applies only to HAPUs.…”

“…It also shows a fourth relationship, specific to an examination of HAPUs, depicting the influence of patient characteristics on patient outcomes. PUs are a prevalent never event (5-10%) 28 and a nurse-sensitive quality outcome. Multiple factors contribute to PUs including impairments of mobility, nutrition, and perfusion 28 that are further affected by timely nursing assessment, monitoring, decision making, and interventions.…”

“…PUs are a prevalent never event (5-10%) 28 and a nurse-sensitive quality outcome. Multiple factors contribute to PUs including impairments of mobility, nutrition, and perfusion 28 that are further affected by timely nursing assessment, monitoring, decision making, and interventions. Based on the model and controlling for patient characteristics, our study aim was to determine the influence of nurse continuity and nurse-staffing variables on the presence of HAPUs.…”

Proposing a New Conceptual Model and an Exemplar Measure Using Health Information

“…Pressure ulcers are a prevalent never event (5–10%) 41 and a major nurse-sensitive quality outcome. The literature is replete with factors that contribute to pressure ulcers including impairments of mobility, nutrition, cognition, and continence 41–42 all of which are effected by the quality of nursing assessment, monitoring, decision making, and interventions. Our new model includes patient characteristics as important variables when examining influences on patient outcomes.…”

A Finite Element Approach for Modeling and Simulation of CNT/Polymer Composites

“…The usage of a soft polymer and a small amount of CNTs results in a flexible and cost‐efficient composite with piezoresistive properties to measure the pressure between the immobile patient and the mattress. Pressure on a localized area of skin over a prolonged period of time has been identified to be a risk factor for developing decubitus ulcer . Thus, the detection of affected skin areas using a pressure sensor matrix can help to prevent bedridden people from serious skin damage and improve their healthiness.…”