Effect of Skin Care and Bony Prominence Protectors on Pressure Ulcers among Hospitalized Bedridden Patients

Abstract

Background: Pressure ulcers represent a common health problem among the immobilized patients that prolong their period of hospitalization. The skin care, reduction of pressure on the bone prominence areas, and mobilizing the bedridden patients can provide a significant difference in pressure ulcer development. Aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of skin care and bony prominence protectors on pressure ulcers among the hospitalized bedridden patients. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted. Setting: The study was carried out at the orthopedic and ICUs of Menoufia university hospital, Menoufia governorate, Egypt. Subjects: A total of 282 patients were recruited. Tools: Five tools were used included the structured questionnaire, Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Sore Risk, Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing, Katz Index of Independence in activities of daily living, and Glasgow Coma Scale. Results: The mean age for the patients was 48.7 ± 13.3 years old. Three quarters of the sample were adult and 25.5% was elderly patients with mean age 64.97 ± 5.21 years old. 96.2% of the adult patients and all the elderly patients had a high risk for bedsores. The reported causes for pressure ulcers were the increased level of dependence due to immobility, uncontrolled chronic diseases, urinary and fecal incontinence, anti-inflammatory and corticosteroid medications, obesity, edema, anemia and dementia. There was a reduction of pressure ulcer risk with a statistically significant difference between the pre and post-test for the Braden score and pressure ulcer healing score (P Conclusion: Skin care and bony prominence protectors can reduce the risk for pressure ulcers. Recommendations: The nurses should encourage the patient's mobility, assess the skin regularly, and provide skin care especially in the scapula, elbows and buttocks for the ICU patients and focused the skin care in the knee, heel, buttocks and toes for the orthopedic patients.