Prevalence, prevention, and treatment of pressure ulcers: descriptive study in 89 institutions in the Netherlands

The purpose of the present study was to assess the prevalence of pressure ulcers and the use of Dutch guidelines for the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. A survey of 16,344 patients in 89 health care institutions on 1 day showed a mean prevalence of pressure ulcers of 23.1%. It was found that Dutch guidelines on some aspects of prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers were not being followed. Only 53% of the patients who should have been positioned on a support surface were positioned on such a device. Fewer than one-third of the patients who should have been repositioned, should have received nutritional support, or should have been educated received these interventions, and only 33.6% of all pressure ulcers were dressed as recommended. More attention to the dissemination and implementation of the guidelines is needed to reduce this high prevalence of pressure ulcers.