The effectiveness of alternating pressure air mattresses in preventing pressure ulcer incidences NSG 502 Research – Week 11
The Use of Alternating Pressure Air Mattresses to Prevent Pressure Ulcers
Pressure ulcers are serious patient safety issues in healthcare and can lead to detrimental health impacts when not properly addressed. Pressure ulcers have continued to remain an old global public health problem despite all advances in health care (Gaspar et al., 2019). These health conditions are also called pressure injuries. They are defined as sin injuries and/or localized underlying tissue damage over a bony area, as a result of pressure force and/or pressure and shear combined.
In most cases, pressure ulcers are predictable and preventable when proper evidence-based interventions are put in place. The use of alternating-pressure air mattresses is one of the strategies that can be employed to prevent this health condition. These special mattresses work by allowing proper pressure redistribution to prevent pressure injuries (Lavender et al., 2022). Regarding this, assesses whether alternating pressure air mattresses are effective in preventing pressure ulcers in hospitalized patients. The paper will cover background, significance, problem statement, purpose statement, and the PICOT question.
Background
Pressure ulcers are tissue damage that occurs as a result of external factors such as shear force, continuous pressure, and friction. This condition is an important aspect of nursing care in terms of the maintenance of skin integrity. According to Shi et al. (2020), pressure ulcer severity is classified using the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP) system. Stage 1 includes intact skin with a local appearance of non-blanchable erythema. Stage 2 is partial-thickness skin loss and exposed dermis.
Stage 3 includes full-thickness skin loss (Shi et al., 2020). Stage 4 is full-thickness skin and tissue loss with visible muscle, tendon, fascia, ligament, cartilage, or bone. The next stage is unsaleable pressure injury, which is marked by full-thickness skin and tissue loss that is obscured by slough or eschar so that the severity of the injury cannot be confirmed (Shi et al., 2020). The last but not least stage is the deep tissue injury. This is described as a localized injury of persistent non-blanch-able deep red, purple, or maroon discoloration or epidermal separation indicating a dark wound bed or blood-filled blister.
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Pressure ulcers affect people globally across all healthcare settings. According to Shi et al. (2020), the estimated number of people affected by pressure injuries or bed sores in the USA, UK, Ireland, and Sweden is between 5.6 to 2300 per 10,000 based on the nature of the population surveyed. However, these incidents are preventable. Källman et al. (2022) described a study whose aim was to identify the prevalence and prevention strategies for pressure ulcers in Sweden.
The study showed that the implementation of a national patient safety program has had a positive impact on pressure injury prevalence and the occurrence of prevention strategies. According to Shi et al. (2020), alternating pressure mattresses have been proven helpful in reducing the proportion of patients developing new pressure ulcers. Meaume & Marty (2018) also carried out a study to investigate the effectiveness of alternating pressure ulcers. The authors reiterated that in high-risk patients using a motorized alternating-pressure air mattress in the prevention group, only one in 30 patients developed pressure ulcers.
Significance
There are several reasons why this topic is important to patients, the healthcare system, and the entire community. The condition has detrimental health effects on the patients that need serious attention. Pressure ulcers can result in discomfort or pain due to tissue damage or ischemia (Kim & Shin, 2021). Pressure ulcers also cause physical problems that may lead to complications. This incident also leads to poor clinical outcomes, social problems, and psychological problems resulting from increased health costs. Källman et al. (2022) also state that pressure ulcers bring great suffering to people affected, as well as, a high cost to society.
The shear and pressures often deform soft tissues and may result in cell death. Pressure ulcers lead to a prolonged hospital stay and poor patient prognosis. These health, social, and financial problems associated wi
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