Preventing pressure ulcers with Mepilex Border Sacrum and Mepilex Border Heel

Pressure ulcers (PUs) severely affect patient quality of life , and in the latest Global Burden of Skin Disease Study, PUs were assigned the highest disability index  . High-risk settings, such as intensive care units, have proven to have a very high incidence of pressure ulcers      .

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  .

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      .

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  .

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