Abstract
Purpose To analyze whether a viscoelastic mattress support surface can reduce the incidence of stage 2 pressure injuries compared to a standard hospital mattress with pyramidal overlay in critically ill patients. Method A randomized clinical trial with intention-to-treat analysis was carried out recruiting patients with Braden scale ≤14 on intensive care unit admission from April 2016 to April 2017. Patients were allocated into two groups: intervention group (viscoelastic mattress) and control group (standard mattress with pyramidal overlay). The level of significance adopted was 5%. Results A total of 62 patients were included in the study. There was a predominance of males (53%) and the mean age was 67.9 (SD 18.8) years. There were no differences in clinical or severity characteristics between the patients in the control group and the intervention group. Pressure injuries occurred in 35 patients, with a median time of 7 days (ITQ 4–10) from admission. The frequency of pressure injuries was higher in the control group (80.6%) compared to the intervention group (32.2%; p < 0.001). Conclusions Viscoelastic support surfaces reduced the incidence of pressure injuries in moderate or higher risk critically ill patients when compared to pyramidal support surfaces.
Highlights
Patient safety involves all studies, practices, and actions promoted by health institutions to reduce or eliminate the risks of unnecessary harm to health care [1]
In order to reduce adverse events related to health care, the World Health Organization (WHO) together with the Joint Commission International (JCI) has established global patient safety goals, which combine strategies focused on higher risk situations, among them the reduction in pressure injuries [2, 3]
A total of 531 patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) during the study period
Summary
The Effect of Support Surfaces on the Incidence of Pressure Injuries in Critically Ill Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial. To analyze whether a viscoelastic mattress support surface can reduce the incidence of stage 2 pressure injuries compared to a standard hospital mattress with pyramidal overlay in critically ill patients. Patients were allocated into two groups: intervention group (viscoelastic mattress) and control group (standard mattress with pyramidal overlay). Ere were no differences in clinical or severity characteristics between the patients in the control group and the intervention group. E frequency of pressure injuries was higher in the control group (80.6%) compared to the intervention group (32.2%; p < 0.001). Viscoelastic support surfaces reduced the incidence of pressure injuries in moderate or higher risk critically ill patients when compared to pyramidal support surfaces
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