The presence of pressure ulcers imposes a huge burden on the older person's quality of life and significantly increases their risk of dying. The objective of this study was to determine patient characteristics associated with the presence of pressure ulcers and to evaluate the risk factors associated with mortality among older patients with pressure ulcers. A prospective observational study was...

Considerable dogma and rhetoric, rather than evidence-based results, have accompanied recommendations for the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. Therapy for pressure ulcers is generally empiric, based on anecdotal experience, or borrowed from the treatment of patients with acute wounds. The treatment of pressure ulcers is problematic because of multiple comorbidities of patients, the ...

A quality of care debate centers on whether pressure ulcers result from factors largely dependent on caregivers, or whether pressure ulcers result from factors associated with patient morbidity. A reduction in incidence, defined as the development of a new pressure ulcer, is the focus of prevention strategies. Yet epidemiological data demonstrates a stability in the incidence of pressure ulcers...

A pressure ulcer is a localised injury of the skin and underlying tissue that usually develops over a bony prominence. A decrease in the pressure over the bony prominence effectively prevents pressure ulcers; however, no studies have systematically assessed the physical properties of existing pressure ulcers. To characterise pressure ulcers, we established new terminology that clarifies the phy...

Pressure ulcers, also called decubitus ulcers, are a common challenge of humanity. They are wounds initiated by pressure on the skin that blocks circulation causing the skin and underlying tissues to die. Without care, pressure ulcers continue to grow in diameter and depth and are exceptionally difficult to heal. They have probably always existed, and are present on Egyptian mummies. Pressure u...

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE The prevalence of pressure ulcers varies according to geographic region and population group, such as the institutionalized elderly. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of pressure ulcers among elderly people living in long-stay institutions. DESIGN AND SETTING Cross-sectional study in six long-stay institutions for the elderly in São Paulo, Brazil. ME...

PURPOSE To summarize clinical and empirical knowledge about pressure ulcers in infants and children and to describe an approach developed at Children's Hospital, Boston, to prevent and manage pressure ulcers. POPULATION Acutely ill children with potential or actual alteration in skin integrity due to pressure ulcers. CONCLUSIONS The three-pronged approach for pressure ulcer prevention and m...

BACKGROUND Obesity contributes to immobility and subsequent pressure on skin surfaces. Knowledge of the relationship between obesity and development of pressure ulcers in intensive care patients will provide better understanding of which patients are at high risk for pressure ulcers and allow more efficient prevention. OBJECTIVES To examine the incidence of pressure ulcers in patients who dif...

BACKGROUND Vasopressors are lifesaving agents used to raise mean arterial pressure in critically ill patients in shock states. The pharmacodynamics of these agents suggest vasopressors may play a role in development of pressure ulcers; however, this aspect has been understudied. OBJECTIVE To examine associations between type, dose, and duration of vasopressors (norepinephrine, epinephrine, va...