Review of evidenced-based practice for the prevention of pressure sores in burn patients

J Burn Care Rehabil. 2004 Sep-Oct;25(5):388-410. doi: 10.1097/01.bcr.0000138289.83335.f4.

Abstract

Pressure ulcers represent a complex clinical problem, with a reported incidence of 2.7% to 29.5% in hospitalized patients and an etiology that is multifactorial. The prevention of pressure sores in the burn patient population is clearly an area of practice in need of guidelines for care. A multidisciplinary group of advanced burn care professionals have compiled, critiqued, and summarized herein the current evidence of practice in nursing, nutrition, and rehabilitation as it pertains to the prevention of pressure sores after burn injuries. A broad overview of risk factors and assessment scales is described, and current intervention practices and recommendations for care are provided based, whenever possible, on research findings. In addition, research questions are generated in an attempt to move the specialty of burns toward the formal investigation of pressure sores with the ultimate goal being the development of evidence-based practice guidelines.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Burns / complications*
  • Child
  • Emollients / therapeutic use
  • Evidence-Based Medicine / methods*
  • Evidence-Based Medicine / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Hygiene
  • Incidence
  • Nutritional Support / methods
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic
  • Pressure Ulcer / epidemiology
  • Pressure Ulcer / etiology*
  • Pressure Ulcer / physiopathology
  • Pressure Ulcer / prevention & control*
  • Prevalence
  • Quality Indicators, Health Care
  • Risk Assessment / methods
  • Shear Strength
  • Splints
  • United States / epidemiology

Substances

  • Emollients