Preventing pressure ulcers with Mepilex Border Sacrum and Mepilex Border Heel
Watch Dr. Jan Kottner discuss the 1st European RCT (Randomised Control Trial) demonstrating pressure ulcer prevention with Mepilex® Border Sacrum and Mepilex® Border Heel dressings — significantly reducing the risk of developing pressure ulcers compared to no dressing 1 .
Pressure ulcers (PUs) severely affect patient quality of life 2, and in the latest Global Burden of Skin Disease Study, PUs were assigned the highest disability index 3 . High-risk settings, such as intensive care units, have proven to have a very high incidence of pressure ulcers 4 5 6 .
Modern PU prevention techniques include identifying PU risk and employing various preventive measures, such as patient repositioning, elevation and offloading of heels, early mobilization and special support surfaces 4 .
Evidence shows that the prophylactic application of wound care dressings anatomic areas at risk of developing pressure ulcers (e.g. sacrum and heels) can lead to a reduction in the number of pressure ulcers 4 7 8 .
Based on the evidence showing pressure ulcer dressings could be effective in prevention, Clinical Quality and Risk Management at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin hospital in Berlin (Germany) investigated whether prophylactic dressings would also be effective in high-risk intensive care unit (ICU) patients at its facilities. The study provided all participants with pressure ulcer prevention as usual, according to the hospital standard, while the intervention group also received Mepilex® Border Sacrum and Heel dressings on the sacrum and heels 1 .
'References'
- Hahnel, E., El Genedy, M., Tomova-Simitchieva, T., Hauß, A., Stroux,A., Lechner,A., Richter,C., AkdeniziD,M., Blume-Peytavi, U., Löber, N. and Kottner, J. The effectiveness of two silicone dressings for sacral and heel pressure ulcer prevention compared with no dressings in high-risk intensive care unit patients: a randomized controlled parallel-group trial, British Journal of Dermatology, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.18621
- Gorecki C, Brown JM, Nelson EA et al. Impact of pressure ulcers on quality of life in older patients: a systematic review. J Am Geriatr Soc 2009; 57:1175–83.
- Hay RJ, Johns NE, Williams HC et al. The global burden of skin disease in 2010: an analysis of the prevalence and impact of skin conditions. J Invest Dermatol 2014; 134:1527–34.
- National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance. Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: Clinical Practice Guideline. Washington DC: National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, 2014.
- Tomova-Simitchieva T, Akdeniz M, Blume-Peytavi U et al. [The epidemiology of pressure ulcer in germany: systematic review]. Gesundheitswesen 2019; 81:505–12 (in German).
- Petzold T, Eberlein-Gonska M, Schmitt J. Which factors predict incident pressure ulcers in hospitalized patients? A prospective cohort study. Br J Dermatol 2014; 170:1285–90.
- Clark M, et al. Systematic review of the use of prophylactic dressings in the prevention of pressure ulcers. Int Wound J. 2014;11(5):460-471.
- Moore ZE, Webster J. Dressings and topical agents for preventing pressure ulcers. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018; 12:CD009362.
