Pressure Ulcers: repositioning and staging
I believe most healthcare workers know that unrelieved pressure over any part of the body for a period of time can result in pressure ulcers. But do pressure ulcers always start on the surface of the skin and work through fat and muscle to the bone? Or is it possible that pressure damage starts at the bone and works outwards to the skin…meaning that you can’t actually see the damage until it is too late. Is a Stage I pressure ulcer actually an ulcer or is it just a sign that the patient is at risk? Is it possible for pressure ulcers to start anywhere between skin and bone, the mattress, fat and muscle. We can’t be sure because we cannot ’see’ inside the tissues — we can only imagine.
And how do you prevent pressure ulcers? Are you still repositioning patients every two hours (or three or four?) Perhaps some of your patients don’t get repositioned at all on a busy shift.
You may be fortunate to have alternating pressure air mattresses (APAM) and chair cushions that will relieve pressure to all parts of the body, every few minutes, for all your patients. That really does help!
There is so much to read on this fascinating subject but I bet you, like me, just don’t have time to search all the literature for the right information. And how do you know what is right? Well you can reduce your reading time from hours to minutes each week and still learn lots about pressure ulcers…real common sense information! Because all it takes to prevent pressure ulcers is common sense. It really is a very simple concept described in a paper that will open a window into this intriguing topic.
WHAT’S THE PAPER?
‘A discourse on pressure ulcer physiology: the implications of repositioning and staging’
by Sharp & McLaws October 2005
WHERE DO I FIND THIS?
Just go to the World Wide Wounds site and you can download the paper for free: www.worldwidewounds.com
Or Click on this link to go directly to the paper
A discourse on pressure ulcer physiology: the implications of repositioning and staging by CA Sharp, M-L McLaws
I trust it will give you answers but what I hope it will do more than anything is provoke great debate in your wound care groups and with your colleagues.
