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Study of Medicare Patients’ Bedsores
A study of Medicare patient records found that patients who developed bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers, while in the hospital had a higher mortality rate, were more likely to have an extended hospital stay, and were more likely to have to return to the hospital within a month after being released, according to counselheal.com.
Though the study was restricted to records from hospitalized Medicare patients, the findings were helpful in identifying which patients are at a higher risk for pressure sores or for the development of one or more pressure ulcers during a hospital stay. Those with chronic conditions (such as heart disease, arthritis, or orthopedic impairments) are most at risk for dying from a bedsore.
Because bedsores can potentially put a patient at greater risk of death, hospitals and caretakers should take extra precautions. According to nursingassistanteducation.com, bedsores can develop for a number of reasons, including:
Full story of bed sores at The Legal Examiner - Cleveland
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Getinge Assumes Global Leading Position in Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Healing
Getinge has today signed a definitive agreement with US-based Kinetic Concepts Inc. (KCI) to acquire KCI’s Therapeutic Support Systems (TSS) business. Getinge is currently a major player in pressure ulcer prevention and healing in many European markets, while KCI’s primary geographical area of strength is the North American market. The combination of Getinge’s and KCI’s TSS business creates a global platform with strong positions in most key markets, with significant potential for portfolio and operational synergies. The TSS portfolio and operations will be integrated into Getinge Extended Care under the ArjoHuntleigh brand.
About Therapeutic Support Systems
The TSS business includes a comprehensive portfolio of specialty therapeutic beds, mattress replacement systems and other support surfaces and patient mobility devices. TSS has a particularly strong portfolio for therapeutic wound care, bariatric care and critical care settings. TSS had revenues of USD 247 million in 2011, with approximately 1300 employees globally with sales locations in the US, Canada, Germany, Austria, Italy Switzerland, the UK and France. In 2011, the US market accounted for 60% of the TSS business, with Europe accounting for approximately 30%. Similar to Getinge Extended Care’s Therapeutic Surfaces business, rental is the primary business model applied for serving customers in acute and post-acute care. The acquisition will enable Getinge Extended Care to achieve a balance between equipment sales and recurring revenues, and the business in the US will increase significantly, in line with its strategic goals.
Full story of pressure ulcer prevention at Virtual Strategy Magazine
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New Olive Oil Product Treats Pressure Ulcers in High Risk Patients
A new olive oil based product has recently been patented and is being marketed to hospitals and health centres around Andalusia as a result of a study carried out by a team of nurses at the Health Agency of Alto Guadalquivir in Spain over the past two years.
The study was originally intended to investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of extra virgin olive oil in the prevention of pressure ulcers, a technique that is common in traditional medicine. It was found that the fatty acids present in extra virgin olive oil encourage regeneration of the skin, in addition to increasing its hydration, elasticity and strength.
The oil was also found to reduce skin breakdown and therefore offer protection to areas of skin that were subjected to long periods of friction or pressure, such as is often present in patients who are confined to wheelchairs or bedridden.
The new product, known as Farmoliva Oleicopiel, is a joint venture between the health agency and the olive oil company Potosi 10 S.A, and was approved last February with an Andalusian research patent.
Full story of olive oil treating pressure ulcers at The Olive Oil Times
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Pressure Sores Not Prevented by Nutrition Support
Cognitively impaired nursing home residents had a two-fold greater risk of pressure sores when they had a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feeding tube, a review of a national database showed.
Moreover, existing pressure ulcers were significantly less likely to heal when patients had a PEG tube.
The findings add to evidence that nutrition support does not improve outcomes of pressure sores, as reported in the May 14Archives of Internal Medicine.
"Previous syntheses of the literature have concluded that feeding tubes do not benefit patients with advanced dementia," Joan M. Teno, MD, of Brown University in Providence, R.I., and co-authors wrote. "Our findings regarding the risk of developing new stage 2 or higher pressure ulcers suggest that PEG feeding tubes are not beneficial, but in fact they may potentially harm patients."
Full story of pressure sores at Med Page Today
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Bedsores May Be a Sign of More Serious Problems
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 1 out of every 10 nursing home residents suffer from bedsores. Also known as pressure sores, decubitus ulcers, and pressure ulcers, bedsores may be symptomatic of a greater problem of nursing home neglect.
Bedsores a leading cause of iatrogenic death in the U.S. according to numerous reports. An iatrogenic death is an unexpected death caused by medical treatment. Bedsores are caused by constant unrelieved pressure and poor circulation. They are more likely to occur in areas where bone and skin are in close contact--like the back of the head, lower back, hip, elbow, and ankle areas. People with limited mobility are more prone to acquiring pressure sores.
Bedsores are divided into four stages depending on severity; from stage I, where the site is painful but the skin is intact, to stage IV, where there is large-scale loss of tissue. Pressure sores are treatable if discovered early, but they may be fatal in some cases if not properly detected and treated. Unfortunately, the treatment of bedsores is slow and painful.
New Therapeutic Surface for Pressure Ulcer Treatment Provides Patient Comfort and Significant Cost Savings for Facilities
SBWire
Proper product utilization is crucial to lessening pressure ulcers. In the hospital and long-term care setting, it is important for medical professionals to address what is not only clinically efficacious but also reasonably priced. According to McKnight’s Long Term Care News, more than 2.5 million people develop pressure ulcers annually and approximately 60,000 die from complications due to them.
“Proper therapeutic surfaces must be implemented early on when a patient is immobile,” said Greg Grambor, president of Vascular PRN. “The latest products offer comfort, odor control, and can give the facility substantial cost savings.”
Vascular PRN recently added in the Skin IQ™ mattress coverlet – a totally new class of therapeutic surface– that gives similar results as a Low Air Loss bed but for a small percentage of the cost. For example, the Skin IQ has an in use cost of about $4.15 a day whereas a LAL bed averages about $30 a day to rent. Facilities that own LAL beds rather than rent them achieve savings on a similar scale when they replace the LAL beds with Skin IQ as those beds reach the end of their useful life.