Terminal Ulcers, SCALE, Skin Failure, and Unavoidable Pressure Injuries: Results of the 2019 Terminology Survey

To present the results of the 2019 study of healthcare professionals' consensus and opinions regarding terminology for terminal ulcers, Skin Changes At Life's End, skin failure, and unavoidable pressure injuries to improve clinical care and to foster research into current criteria for unavoidable skin changes at the end of life.

This continuing education activity is intended for physicians, physician assistants, NPs, and nurses with an interest in skin and wound care.

After completing this continuing education activity, the participant should be better able to:1. Explain the survey methodology and identify the consensus statements.2. Synthesize the open-ended questions and respondent comments and their implications for clinical care and research.

This article reports the results of a global wound care community survey on Kennedy terminal ulcers, Skin Changes At Life's End, Trombley-Brennan terminal tissue injuries, skin failure, and unavoidable pressure injury terminology. The survey consisted of 10 respondent-ranked statements to determine their level of agreement. There were 505 respondents documented. Each statement required 80% of respondents to agree (either "strongly agree" or "somewhat agree") for the statement to reach consensus. Nine of the 10 statements reached consensus. Comments from two additional open-ended questions were grouped by theme. Conclusions and suggested recommendations for next steps are discussed. This summary is designed to improve clinical care and foster research into current criteria for unavoidable skin changes at the end of life.