Perioperative Pressure Ulcer Prevention (PPUP) Toolkit

The incidence of perioperative pressure ulcers over the past 5 years has NOT decreased but increased (Chen, 2012).  According to a 2014 publication from the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel the incident rate for pressure ulcers attributed to the operating room range from 5% to 53.4%. As a result substantial patient harm has been reported leading to complications, disfigurement, disability, and death. Despite published guidelines specific to the operating room (OR) significant gaps in knowledge, practice, and research exist.

The Association of Perioperative Registered nurses (AORN) chartered a task force including AORN subject matter expert members and representation from the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society. The task force has created a PPUP online toolkit for both association and society members. This online toolkit will contain: PPUP Program Quality Improvement (QI) roadmap, surgical specific evidence-based risk assessment tools and trigger systems, gap analysis and handoff communication tools, patient safety investigation and root cause analysis checklists and current references. Additionally several webinars, downloadable slide decks and posters will be available on various topics including: Surgical positioning, risk assessment, quality improvement, skin assessment and documentation.

The presentation will describe the toolkit components, and illustrate a strategic plan to raise awareness, improve communication, and competency around a vision of eliminating patient harm from pressure ulcers in the high-risk surgical population. The toolkit is meant to strengthen perioperative pressure ulcer prevention efforts, supplementing or adding to an institution-wide comprehensive pressure ulcer prevention program.