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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Nursing care of pressure ulcers in older orthopaedic patients: opportunities for change | | Author(s) | Lesley M Wilkes, Erica Bostock, Loraine Lovitt |
| Journal title | Health Care in Later Life, vol 1, no 2, May 1996 |
| Pages | pp 119-131 |
| Keywords | Wounds ; Fractures ; In-patients ; Australia. |
| Annotation | The development of pressure ulcers in older patients having a fractured neck of femur remains a problem for nurses in the acute hospital setting. A retrospective audit was conducted of 107 patients over 65 years of age who were admitted to a large acute care hospital in Sydney, Australia, with a fractured neck of femur over a six-month period. The findings showed that the incidence of pressure ulcers in this group of patients was high at 61.7%. The most significant risk factors for these patients were age 81 years or greater, existing heart disease, and urinary incontinence. No documented preventative measures were significant in avoiding the formation of pressure ulcers. No standardised system was used by the hospital staff in staging the pressure ulcers; this led to inconsistent treatments. In order to improve quality and reduce costs, it is recommended that each patient's skin integrity should be assessed early, on admission to the emergency room, and that risk assessment for pressure ulcers must be routine and a standardised scale used to classify patients at risk. Preventative measures must be documented specifically. |
| Accession Number | CPA-980212210 A |
| Classmark | CUC: CUF: LF7: 7YA |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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