Author	Topic:   Are Bedsores Preventable?
EComfort	posted 9/4/07 5:00 PM     Preventability of bedsores is a highly controversial topic. The NDF has completed a study, soon to be published, indicating that risk assessment of all admitted patients followed by provision of a specialized support surface for those at risk can reduce pressure ulcer incidence to near zero. Please give the results of your experience in attempting to prevent bedsores.
Iņigo	posted 10/16/07 10:24 AM       where they will publish this study?
EComfort	posted 10/17/07 2:55 PM     The NDF study will be published in the March 2008 issue of "Advances in Skin & Wound Care".705
Jonathan Hubbell	posted 3/8/08 4:04 PM       I started researching this topic this morning and found a ton of information, including the reference I followed to this site in Google Answers on the Subject: Mattress Replacement for Wound Care (i.e. "bed sores", etc.). The answer was rated 5 Stars and the link is below. It was written in 2005. http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=522239 Mattress Replacement for Wound Care
John Mininno	posted 4/28/08 10:22 PM       The more I read about this topic, the more I think that bed sores are the dirty little secret that hospitals and nursing homes don't want patients to learn. Kind of like roaches at the fancy restaurant http://www.minfirm.com/bedsores.asp
mylife'swork	posted 9/14/08 3:30 AM     I have dedicated my life to the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. I eat, sleep, and drink the information that I receive everyday regarding pressure ulcer prevention and have for the past 25 years. To comment on this topic is something that I have asked myself for 25 years...and my answer is different with every pressure ulcer...every person is different and every hospital is different...but the ultimate issue is prevention...there have been many people with Private Duty nurses--round the clock---the best support surface, heel protectors,turned every hour! Not every 2 hours like industry standards..clean and dry, no catheter to cause infections...BUT...they still developed a pressure ulcer...Why? Because they were malnourished...either by refusing to have tube feedings if they could not swallow, or malnourished because their liver was compromised and was unable to process the protien they took in to make the skin strong. Or they had cancer where every molecule of protein was taken to fix (in the body's mind) a life threatening situation thereby leaving the skin extremely vulnerable. Or the person weighs only 90 lbs..and no matter how much they eat...there is no muscle mass to store the protein, vitamins and minerals that the body needs to continue to protect itself..I could go on and on about how the body functions and what I have seen...Yes, there are some inadequate facilities and there are some inadequate nurses...believe me...I have fired many of them...some pressure ulcers can be prevented....but some can't...There are dressing's, support surfaces, creams, gels, vacs, biosynthetic skin and many many more items that claim to prevent pressure ulcers....but what goes ON...and UNDER that person...is only 1/10th of the relevent factors that are part of prevention...If those reading this are as old as I am...you may remember the movie "COMA" from the novel written by Robin Cook...It's a sci-fi but hits the bulls-eye in this topic...the COMA patients were suspended in the air...touching nothing...no pressure...floating...by wires and shifted slightly every 2 hours and fed by artificial means...not one had a pressure ulcer...but that is sci-fi..because if I could suspend my clients in the air...but did not feed them? their skin would die...because the skin needs to be fed too...and as we get older we need more and more protein and nutrients because our muscle mass decreases naturally..we need to stock up so that if we every have a life threatening issue...the body can pull what ever it needs to save itself and still have some left to keep the skin intact...So I urge all of you...study skin physiology, and tissue regeneration...find out what the body does to ITSELF before you condemn those of us who have done everything humanly possible to prevent a pressure ulcer on your loved one. Knowledge is power....
kcf	posted 11/2/08 10:20 PM     I couldn't agree more with the points brought up by mylife'swork in the previous post. It absolutely depends on the health and particular situation the patient is in. The simple answer to your question is yes pressure ulcers are preventatble. But they can occur even when the nurse is providing high quality care and following all procedures for pressure ulcer prevention. It depends very much on the condition of the patience, particularly the frailty of his or her skin and the amount of movement that is possible in his or her condition. With that being said pressure ulcers should be approached as a preventable ailment by nurses and caregivers whether in hospitals, eldercare facilities, or homecare environments. While diligent turning and positioning certainly go a long way certain situations require the use of specialty surfaces or mattresses. In my experience low air-loss mattresses are the most effective type on the market. There are many providers out there. The best one I have worked with personally is the Aircell XL. It is fully automatic and is calibrated to the patient's body type and weight. I have seen how well it works and I think every facility should have access to this type of equipment. And when you consider generally how much it costs to treat a pressure ulcer depending on the severity, these mattresses can pay for themselves.

Post New Topic