Authors (including presenting author) :
Chan WY1, Law PY1, Li CM1, Lai YYC1, Chung SHC1
Affiliation :
Department of Medicine & Geriatrics, Kwong Wah Hospital, Hong Kong
Introduction :
A pressure injury is a localized injury to the skin and/or underlying tissue usually over a bony prominence, as a result of pressure, or pressure in conjunction with shear and/or friction. Many areas of the body, especially the sacrum and the heel, are prone to develop pressure injury. People with impaired mobility (e.g., respiratory failure, stroke or spinal cord injury patients) are easier to develop pressure injury. Pressure injury have negative impacts on health status and quality of life causing increased length of stay of hospitalization and expenditure.
Objectives :
To explore the feasibility and efficacy of using a low air loss mattress for patients with chronic pressure injuries.
Methodology :
A retrospective study was conducted in Medicine & Geriatrics Department of Kwong Wah Hospital. Data was collected between Mar 2020 to Dec 2020.
Inclusion criteria: Pressure injuries with poor prognosis despite undergone conventional treatment such as turning, dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, dietitian consultation, etc.
A low air loss mattress was applied to patient for pressure relieving and persistent monitoring was maintained.
Result & Outcome :
From Mar 2020 to Dec 2020, there were totally 4 patients, 2 males and 2 females using low air loss mattresses. Average age of the patients was 60.5 (aged 18, 64, 79 & 81). They developed pressure injuries without significant improvement for a long period, vary from 8 to 13 months. After using the low air loss mattresses for 1 to 2 months, there was a significant improvement in pressure injury prognosis (Appendix 1-4): decreased wound size and amount of necrotic tissues, increased amount of granulating tissues, improved blood supply of the wound and reduced excess moisture under patient. However, these changes did not reach statistical significance due to the small sample size had been obtained.
Conclusion:
Pressure injury treatment involves different approaches including interventions to treat underlying diseases, protecting and promoting healing of the injury. Low air loss mattress system plays an important role to solve the problem of pressure injury associated with extended lying or sitting. It is effective in pressure injury management, shortening the treatment time, diminishing patient suffering and decreasing hospitalization expenditure. Moreover, an early application of low air loss mattress is recommended to prevent pressure injury development.
