Adult Cardiac ICU Bed Pressure Mapping: Can Mattress Pressure Mapping and Construction Guide Practice?

Adult Cardiac ICU Bed Pressure Mapping: Can Mattress Pressure Mapping and Construction Guide Practice?

Background: 

The cardiac ICU at our facility has had 30-40% prevalence in NDNQI audits. We discovered five facility owned and one rental mattress in use on this floor. Without feed back about mattress construction and pressure mapping, staff are unable to choose which is the best surface for their patients to be on to avoid pressure ulcers. 

Objectives: 

All mattresses used by the cardiac ICU will be pressure mapped and deconstructed to predict performance as a prophylactic for pressure ulcers. 

Methods:

A pressure mapping study was performed on all the bed models currently used in the Adult Cardiac ICU.  Each mattress was mapped using the same conditions and positions. Each mattress was deconstructed by an expert to demonstrate strengths and weaknesses in the type of mattress. 

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that clinicians should use pressure mapping and bed construction to guide them in the selection of mattresses for people at risk for pressure ulcers in the Adult Cardiac ICU.