Student Name:
Nursing Practice Problem (200-250 words):
Pressure ulcers result from prolonged pressure on some pressure areas, such as elbows, heels, and the back of the head. The ulcers/injuries result from prolonged pressure on these areas hence decreased blood and oxygen supply that causes necrosis and wounds. Pressure ulcers are painful, can develop severe sepsis, increase healthcare costs, and lead to death (Zarai et al., 2019). Current statistics show that pressure ulcers reduce the quality of life and patient health outcomes. Pressure ulcer development is a quality measure metric by the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research important in evaluating care quality and patient safety.
Critically ill patients and elderly patients face significant problems with movement. This population reports the most pressure ulcers due to decreased activity and unconsciousness (Gasper et al., 2022). Elderly patients develop severe wounds that hardly heal due to old-age tissue development and repair changes. Individuals with severe injuries such as cervical vertebrae fractures have mobility issues, and repositioning may be more harmful than harmless.
Usual care in these patients entails two-hourly repositioning to relieve pressure in these areas. The standard routine may be inapplicable in most patient situations, such as neck and head injury patients, and is also severely affected by nurses’ shortage and intention to carry out the procedure. Interventions should, as ripple mattresses, help redistribute pressure in body areas automatically over time. These interventions will help redistribute pressure with minimum patient movement and improve outcomes while maintaining patient comfort.
PICOT Question: Among critically ill and elderly patients, does using ripple mattresses compared to usual care prevent pressure ulcers and improve their management?
| Criteria | Article 1 | Article 2 | Article 3 |
| APA-formatted article citation with permalink | Adibelli, S., & Korkmaz, F. (2022). Pressure injury prevention practices of intensive care unit nurses in Turkey: A descriptive multiple-methods qualitative study. Journal of Tissue Viability. https://doi.org/10.016
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Sachs, M. B., Wolffbrandt, M. M., & Poulsen, I. (2018). Prevention of pressure ulcers in patients undergoing subacute rehabilitation after severe brain injury: An observational study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(13-14), 2776-2784. https://doi.org/
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VanGilder, C. A., Cox, J., Edsberg, L. E., & Koloms, K. (2021). Pressure injury prevalence in acute care hospitals with unit-specific analysis: results from the International Pressure Ulcer Prevalence (IPUP) Survey database. Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing, 48(6), 492-503. https://doi.org/10.1097/
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| How does the article relate to the PICOT question? | The article evaluates the practices in intensive care units used to prevent pressure injuries/ulcers in critical care units such as ICU and HDU. Routine care, such as two-hour repositioning, is integral in pressure ulcer prevention and nurses’ attitude, thoughts, and deliberations toward the actual practices in intensive care units. | The article evaluates the prevention of pressure ulcers in patients receiving rehabilitation care after brain injury. Severe brain injury renders patients weak and reliant on the care providers for most or all of their needs. The article explores the various ways in which healthcare providers prevent pressure ulcers in these patients. Among the methods used are ripple mattresses for pressure distribution and pressure ulcers prevention | The International Pressure Ulcer Prevalence Survey evaluated the pressur
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