خلاصه

• Pressure ulcers are commonly encountered in patients admitted to hospital and those in long-term care facilities.
• Older people and all patients with limited mobility or impaired sensation are at particular risk.
• Pressure damage most commonly occurs over bony prominences but can develop on any part of the body subjected to sustained localised pressure.
• Pressure damage varies from small superficial lesions to extensive wounds with bony involvement that contain a mass of necrotic tissue.
• Prevention is better than cure; all patients at risk of sustaining pressure damage should be assessed and provided with appropriate pressure-reducing strategies. Using support surfaces, repositioning the patient, optimising nutritional status, and moisturising sacral skin are appropriate strategies to prevent pressure ulcers.
• Management of pressure ulcers is determined by the location and condition or severity of the wound. Wounds should be managed in accordance with wound care practices or policies.