Pressure ulcer prevention in the intensive care unit: a case study

Pressure ulcers are a growing problem in health care, particularly in the intensive care unit where patients are often unstable and skin care can be overshadowed by airway, breathing, and circulation. In an effort to acknowledge this growing problem, a pressure ulcer protocol based on the subscales of the Braden Scale was developed for the intensive care population. The tool highlights specific interventions for each of its 6 subscales and provides criteria for the application of a preventive sacral dressing. A case study of a suspected deep tissue injury that resulted in a stage III pressure ulcer is used as an example of how this new tool can be applied to assist in the prevention of pressure ulcers.