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National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel Guidelines for the prevention of pressure ulcers states “repositioning should be undertaken to reduce the duration and magnitude of pressure over vulnerable areas of the body.1” Clinicians found it difficult to assess and confirm offloading of high pressure areas. A need was identified for an assessment tool for bedside staff to visually assess where high pressure areas exist and confirm with real-time data that repositioning and turning strategies were successful.
Objective
A bedside pressure mapping (BPM) system* was identified and implemented to provide staff with a visual assessment tool of real-time pressure under residents. The BPM Systems were placed under 22 residents during two months. These 22 residents had multiple comorbidities and conditions that put them at high risk for pressure ulcer development. Risk factors included age over 70, bedbound, incontinence, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, poor nutrition, and a history of pressure ulcers. Five residents also had six existing pressure ulcers where staff needed to visually confirm that those areas had low pressures more consistently to allow for wound healing.
Outcomes
No pressure ulcer developed on those 22 patients for the two month period utilizing the BPM Systems. The six existing pressure ulcers, on five residents, showed surface area reductions between 30% and 76% during the two months of using the BPM Systems. Staff surveys indicate that the bedside staff believes the BPM Systems provide valuable feedback and assists them with more efficient and effective resident repositioning.
Conclusions
With the addition of the BPM Systems to the pressure ulcer prevention and healing program, bedside staff are now able to assess and confirm offloading of high pressure areas under residents. The BPM Systems are easy to use and valuable tools in our pressure ulcer prevention and healing programs.