Pressure Ulcers: The Great Insult

Abstract

Pressure ulcers are a common and frustrating problem. Pressure ulcers increase demands on health care resources and are sometimes a source of malpractice litigation. Skin breakdown, often an iatrogenic complication of hospitalization, increases the length of stay and contributes to mortality and morbidity. Long-term care facilities are under increasing regulatory pressure to reduce rates of pressure ulcer occurrence. The process-outcome link continues to escape us. Processes of care seem disjointed. Numerous studies show a failure to implement what we know. When pressure ulcer risk is identified, preventive measures often are not implemented. The literature is replete with reports of quality improvement activities that enumerate multiple opportunities to improve care related to pressure ulcers. Various quality improvement strategies for pressure ulcer prevention and management have been produced, but recommendations are not always applied to practice. When studies compared various outcomes before and after implementation of guidelines, most of the evidence was clinical audit data. Overall, active strategies were associated with better outcomes and passive strategies with poorer ones. Baier et al reported improvement in processes of care after using a structured quality improvement approach in the long-term care setting. Targeted education sessions were common to all studies reporting successful outcomes. Multidisciplinary wound care teams that conduct rounds at the bedside are highly recommended to enhance patient outcomes.Functioning interdisciplinary teams clearly represent an important approach to error reduction. To close the gap between risk identification and pressure ulcer prevention, we should develop active multidisciplinary wound care teams and "Strive for Six Sigma in Pressure Ulcer Care".