Reduction of incidence of Dermatitis due to anal continence in a medical intensive care unit

Dermatitis following anal continence (DAN) is a common problem. If there is no comprehensive preventive measures in place, it not only increases medical cost but is also a burden for nursing personnel and could increase the risk of wound infection , sepsis, and death. The purpose of this study was to lower the risk of dermatitis due to anal incontinence. According to the retrospective analysis, the rate of DAN in a medical intensive care unit (ICU)  was 14%. Etiologies of this disease included lack of awareness of DAN by nurses, lack of a protocol for the condition and inadequate nursing education and resources. We have developed five methods to address the above problems: 1) Develop and implement education training activities. 2) Write a standard protocol for the  prevention of DAN. 3) Create and display a poster of this protocol in our environment  4 Ensure adequate stock of relevant dressing materials  in the clinical areas and 5) Adopt best practice from other studies in the use of  isolation techniques for stool contamination.. After implementation, a subsequent review noted a reduction from 14% to 4%.  This demonstrated that such a strategy of pragmatic correction can significantly reduce the prevalence of DAN and improve the standard of nursing care.