Dear colleague, I have seen hospitals or rehab centers in England and France
where pressure ulcers do not exist in any population: elderly patients or
paraplegic, tetraplegic, comatose patients. To get this result you just need
strict hygiene, regular changes of position (every two to three hours) and
ROM performed by PTs 2 or 3 times a day. I do not consider as a ROM exercise
the fact that nurses mobilize a patient during hygiene care. Have you seen a
lot of stretcher accessible showers in hospitals in US? This is the first
step. Calling the pressure ulcer specialist to evaluate a patient showing
some redness is useless when you know that you need less that 2 hours to
develop a pressure ulcer when redness is observed. Who is checking the
patients' skin regularly? Best regards. Anne-Marie
9every two to three hours
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