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Chapter 36 - Pressure ulcers

Practical considerations in prevention and treatment

from Section III - Care of the elderly by organ system

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2016

By
Mary H. Palmer
Edited by
Jan Busby-Whitehead ,
Christine Arenson ,
Samuel C. Durso ,
Daniel Swagerty ,
Laura Mosqueda ,
Maria Fiatarone Singh  and
William Reichel
Jan Busby-Whitehead
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina
Christine Arenson
Affiliation:
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
Samuel C. Durso
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Daniel Swagerty
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Laura Mosqueda
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
Maria Fiatarone Singh
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
William Reichel
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
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Summary

Despite extensive prevention and treatment efforts for pressure ulcers, they remain prevalent in various health care delivery settings. Pressure ulcers are increasingly viewed as public health and patient safety issues, and regulatory pressure exists to prevent ulcer development. Because of the significant morbidity and mortality associated with pressure ulcers and because they are considered, for the most part, preventable, effective pressure ulcer prevention has been included in hospital safety strategies. Treatments include palliative wound care, pressure redistribution and repositioning interventions, nutritional intervention, surgery to close pressure ulcers, and pain management. An interdisciplinary team approach that includes not only interprofessional clinical staff and hospital administration, but also patients and their families, is important for achieving care that supports function, independence, and quality of life.
Type
Chapter
Information
Reichel's Care of the Elderly
Clinical Aspects of Aging
 , pp. 509 - 522
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

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