Preventing hospital-acquired pressure ulcers: a point prevalence study

The deleterious effects of mechanical forces on the development of pressure ulcers have been recognized for many years. A cross-sectional study was conducted to ascertain the effect of implementing a new support surface on the development of pressure ulcers in one acute care facility. Two pressure ulcer prevalence studies were conducted using the Pressure Ulcer Prevalence Audit Data Collection Tool. To ascertain whether ulcers were facility-acquired, a retrospective chart review was completed for all patients with pressure ulcers. Following completion of the first audit, only the support surface used for at-risk patients was changed. The second audit was conducted 3 months after the new support surface was implemented. Pressure ulcer prevalence was 8.3% in June 1999 and 7.8% in October 2000; whereas, the prevalence of nosocomial pressure ulcers was 5.5% in 1999 and 3.1% in October 2000. Despite the inherent limitations of this study design, the results suggest that use of the new support surfaces for at-risk patients has lowered the prevalence of nosocomial pressure ulcers in this facility.