Preventing Pressure Ulcers: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Given current evidence, using support surfaces, repositioning the patient, optimizing nutritional status, and moisturizing sacral skin are appropriate strategies to prevent pressure ulcers. Although a number of RCTs have evaluated preventive strategies for pressure ulcers, many of them had important methodological limitations. There is a need for well-designed RCTs that follow standard criteria for reporting nonpharmacological interventions and that provide data on cost-effectiveness for these interventions.

Preventive interventions for pressure ulcers in long‐term older people care facilities: A systematic review

“…The primary prevention was done before the occurrence of any PU while secondary prevention was conducted after a resident had developed a PU, to prevent worsening and to promote healing of the PU by eliminating or reducing the risk factors. Our results support previous findings (Reddy et al, ) where support surfaces were the most common intervention. However, other methods for preventing PUs were noted in our review that were not included in previous reviews, such as interventions with computerised support in decision‐making in PU prevention, PU prevention bundle or programme and wound care support teams were developed.…”

“…The results of this review are similar to previous systematic reviews concerning mattresses in various settings (Reddy et al, ), where more advanced static support surfaces were associated with lower incidences for PUs compared with standard hospital mattresses. The results also support previous results in various settings suggesting that the use of nutritional supplements may be useful in the prevention of PUs (Horn et al, ).…”

“…The results also support previous results in various settings suggesting that the use of nutritional supplements may be useful in the prevention of PUs (Horn et al, 2004). However, whereas previously the composition of the best nutrients was unclear (Reddy et al, 2006) Care facilities have increasingly bundled together best practices of PU prevention and implemented them in-house as extensive pro-…”

Pressure‐Redistributing Support Surface Use and Pressure Ulcer Incidence in Elderly Hip Fracture Patients

“…Although prior studies have found that high‐density foam mattresses are effective in preventing pressure ulcers, 18,20,47 this finding was not replicated in the current study. The reason for this disagreement is unclear, because there was not a good measure for use of high‐density foam mattresses in the current study, which limits interpretation of this finding or there may have been a misclassification of mattress type, because the definition of foam mattresses provided to the research nurses was ambiguous.…”

A nomogram prediction of pressure injury in critical ill patients: A retrospective cohort study

“…In the present study, the incidence of PI was 9.8%, which was lower than that of previous studies 22 and similar to a recent study. 23 This may be attributed to the growing international health policy focused on PI prevention.…”