Related Experiment Videos
Nursing aspects of pressure sore prevention and therapy
1Department of Post Registration Nursing, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Herts.
Insights
Pressure sores are a significant health issue, causing pain and complications like sepsis. Effective prevention and therapy require a multidisciplinary approach, focusing on documentation and collaborative care.
Area of Science:
- Nursing
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Pressure sores are a prevalent and serious health concern in both hospital and community settings.
- Complications include life-threatening conditions such as sepsis and osteomyelitis, alongside significant personal suffering.
- Accurate incidence data, especially in the community, remains challenging to ascertain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize principles of good practice for pressure sore prevention and therapy from a nursing perspective.
- To emphasize the importance of objective documentation and a collaborative healthcare approach.
- To provide an overview of key management strategies including risk assessment, nutrition, and wound care.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature and best practices in pressure area management.
- Emphasis on a nursing perspective integrating multidisciplinary collaboration.
- Discussion of risk assessment, classification, nutrition, patient handling, support surfaces, wound management, and skin care.
Main Results:
- Highlights the shift towards a multidisciplinary approach in pressure area management.
- Stresses the critical role of accurate documentation over assumptions.
- Underscores the need for healthcare professionals to collaborate on patient needs.
Conclusions:
- Effective pressure sore management necessitates a collaborative, evidence-based approach.
- Accurate risk assessment and tailored interventions are crucial for prevention and treatment.
- Continued focus on documentation and interprofessional teamwork is vital for improving patient outcomes.
Abstract:
Pressure sores remain a significant problem in hospitals and domestic settings, affecting people of all ages, social class and race. Associated complications may be life threatening, e.g. sepsis and osteomyelitis. Other less dangerous, but nevertheless compromising outcomes such as pain, discomfort and low self-esteem and body image can cause personal suffering, and may add extra demand for limited resources. The exact state of pressure sore occurrence remains difficult to determine, particularly in the community. Recent trends in pressure area management present a multidisciplinary approach, eroding traditional perceptions of pressure sores as a solely nursing problem. Written from nursing perspective, this article summarizes principles of good practice relating to pressure sore prevention and therapy, emphasizing the importance of documenting observed events, rather than assumptions or opinions, and the need for healthcare professionals to approach problems and needs from a collaborative stance. Pressure sore risk assessment and classification are discussed, and an overview of nutrition, moving a handling, selecting support surfaces, principles of wound management, and skin care are considered.