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Wiley InterScience

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Volume 52 Issue 3, Pages 359 - 367

Published Online: 12 Feb 2004

Journal compilation 2010 The American Geriatrics Society/Wiley Periodicals, Inc.



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The National Pressure Ulcer Long-Term Care Study: Pressure Ulcer Development in Long-Term Care Residents
Susan D. Horn, PhD * , Stacy A. Bender, MS, RD , Maree L. Ferguson, PhD, RD , Randall J. Smout, MS * , Nancy Bergstrom, RN, PhD , George Taler, MD § , Abby S. Cook, BS, RD , Siobhan S. Sharkey, MBA , Anne Coble Voss, PhD, RD
From the  *Institute for Clinical Outcomes Research, Salt Lake City, Utah;  Ross Products Division, Abbott Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio;  Theodore J. & Mary E. Trumble, Center on Aging, University of Texas Houston School of Nursing, Houston, Texas;  §Long-Term Care, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC; and  ISIS, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah.
 Address correspondence to Stacy A. Bender MS, RD, Clinical Research Associate, Ross Products Division, 12424 Pintails Circle, Pickerington, OH 43147. E-mail: stacy.bender@abbott.com

 This study was supported by Ross Products Division and Hill-Rom, Inc. Stacy Bender, Abby Cook, Maree Ferguson, and Anne Voss are employees of Ross Products Division. Susan Horn, Siobhan Sharkey, Randall Smout, Nancy Bergstrom, and George Taler are consultants to Ross Products Division.

Copyright © 2004 by the American Geriatrics Society
KEYWORDS
pressure ulcers • prevention • nutrition • older adults • nursing homes

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To identify resident, treatment, and facility characteristics associated with pressure ulcer (PU) development in long-term care residents.

Design: Retrospective cohort study with convenience sampling.

Setting: Ninety-five long-term care facilities participating in the National Pressure Ulcer Long-Term Care Study throughout the United States.

Participants: A total of 1,524 residents aged 18 and older, with length of stay of 14 days or longer, who did not have an existing PU but were at risk of developing a PU, as defined by a Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Sore Risk score of 17 or less, on study entry.

Measurements: Data collected for each resident over a 12-week period included resident characteristics (e.g., demographics, medical history, severity of illness using the Comprehensive Severity Index, Braden Scale scores, nutritional factors), treatment characteristics (nutritional interventions, pressure management strategies, incontinence treatments, medications), staffing ratios and other facility characteristics, and outcome (PU development during study period). Data were obtained from medical records, Minimum Data Set, and other written records (e.g., physician orders, medication logs).

Results: Seventy-one percent of subjects (n=1,081) did not develop a PU during the 12-week study period; the remaining 29% of residents (n=443) developed a new PU. Resident, treatment, and facility characteristics associated with greater likelihood of developing a Stage I to IV PU included higher initial severity of illness, history of recent PU, significant weight loss, oral eating problems, use of catheters, and use of positioning devices. Characteristics associated with decreased likelihood of developing a Stage I to IV PU included new resident, nutritional intervention (e.g., use of oral medical nutritional supplements and tube feeding for >21 days), antidepressant use, use of disposable briefs for more than 14 days, registered nurse hours of 0.25 hours per resident per day or more, nurses' aide hours of 2 hours per resident per day or more, and licensed practical nurse turnover rate of less than 25%. When Stage I PUs were excluded from the analyses, the same variables were significant, with the addition of fluid orders associated with decreased likelihood of developing a PU.

Conclusion: A broad range of factors, including nutritional interventions, fluid orders, medications, and staffing patterns, are associated with prevention of PUs in long-term care residents. Research-based PU prevention protocols need to be developed that include these factors and target interventions for reducing risk factors.


DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)
10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52106.x About DOI

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