Journal
INTERNATIONAL WOUND JOURNAL
Volume 12, Issue 3, Pages 302-308Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/iwj.12101
Keywords
Pressure ulcers; Prevention; Silicone foam dressings
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The prevention of hospital acquired pressure ulcers in critically ill patients remains a significant clinical challenge. The aim of this trial was to investigate the effectiveness of multi-layered soft silicone foam dressings in preventing intensive care unit (ICU) pressure ulcers when applied in the emergency department to 440 trauma and critically ill patients. Intervention group patients (n = 219) had Mepilex((R)) Border Sacrum and Mepilex((R)) Heel dressings applied in the emergency department and maintained throughout their ICU stay. Results revealed that there were significantly fewer patients with pressure ulcers in the intervention group compared to the control group (5 versus 20, P = 0001). This represented a 10% difference in incidence between the groups (31% versus 131%) and a number needed to treat of ten patients to prevent one pressure ulcer. Overall there were fewer sacral (2 versus 8, P = 005) and heel pressure ulcers (5 versus 19, P = 0002) and pressure injuries overall (7 versus 27, P = 0002) in interventions than in controls. The time to injury survival analysis indicated that intervention group patients had a hazard ratio of 019 (P = 0002) compared to control group patients. We conclude that multi-layered soft silicone foam dressings are effective in preventing pressure ulcers in critically ill patients when applied in the emergency department prior to ICU transfer.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available