Early pressure ulcer development in spinal cord injured patients

Abstract

Spinal cord injured patients used to be admitted directly into rehabilitative care with a protracted period of bedrest. But they are now transferred to acute care where they are nursed on Stryker beds, stabilised, have their bony injuies fixed, and are then referred for formal rehabilitation. Medical considerations aside, this change in service approach has had little effect on the secondary complications that affect spinal cord injured patients and threaten the potential for a period of untroubled rehabilitation. The main secondary complication is the development of pressure ulcers, long identified as being of clinical concern in relation to spinal cord injured patients. Pressure ulcers receive significant attention in the literature, with the emphasis on identifying and preventing or removing risk factors. Much of it however focuses on the development of pressure ulcers in the months and years after spinal cord injury rather than in the immediate post-trauma