F ecal incontinence is often difficult to manage in patients in the intensive care unit. The authors of the preceding study, “Clinical Evaluation of a Flexible Fecal Incontinence Management System,” should be applauded for testing a promising new device to address this difficult problem. The study may have been further strengthened, however, with the addition of 2 evidence-based assessment scal...

Wound and pressure ulcer prevention are key quality indicators of nursing care. This article describes a collaborative project between a community skin care service and a nursing home. The aim of the project was to establish whether the implementation of a wound and pressure ulcer management competency framework within a nursing home would improve patient outcomes and reduce the severity and nu...

Heel ulcers are a costly and preventable complication of lower-extremity immobilization, but they still occur with some regularity. A technique using a short leg posterior splint that suspends the heel away from the splint is described. This modification completely removes pressure the heel to prevent decubitus ulcer formation. This technique is simple, inexpensive, and effective.

BACKGROUND Pressure ulcers are costly to the healthcare provider and can have a major impact on patient's quality of life. One of the most distressing symptoms reported is pain. There is very little published data on the prevalence and details of pain experienced by patients with pressure ulcers, particularly in community populations. The study was conducted in two community NHS sites in the No...

AIM To assess the validity of the Waterlow screening tool in a cohort of internal medicine patients and to identify factors contributing to pressure injury. METHOD A longitudinal cohort study design was used. A total of 274 patients (mean age 65.3 years) admitted through the emergency department or outpatient clinics of a tertiary hospital in Brisbane, Australia, and expected to remain in hos...

Pressure ulcers are defined as “Localized injury to the skin and/or underlying tissue usually over a bony prominence, as a result of pressure, or pressure in combination with shear” (NPUAP/EPUAP 2009) that generally affected people with impaired mobility. In clinical practice there are several methods to facilitate the healing of pressure ulcer. There is evidence that pressure ulcers are charac...

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a pressure ulcer risk assessment for acute hospitals. This tool was developed in a cohort of 342 patients with a mean age 63 years (SD 19.82) and validated in a second cohort of 165 patients with a mean age 68 years (SD 18.40). Risk factors for inclusion on The Northern Hospital Pressure Ulcer Prevention Plan (TNH-PUPP) were identified from ...

For decades various pressure ulcer risk assessment scales (PURAS) have been developed and implemented into nursing practice despite uncertainty whether use of these tools helps to prevent pressure ulcers. According to current methodological standards, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are required to conclusively determine the clinical efficacy and safety of this risk assessment strategy. In ...