Skin protection wheelchair cushions for older nursing home residents reduce 6-month incidence of ischial tuberosity pressure ulcers compared with segmented foam cushions

Evid Based Nurs 2011;14:79-80 doi:10.1136/ebn1167 Dimitri Beeckman1,2, Katrien Vanderwee2

1King's College London, Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery, Department of Adult Nursing, London, UK

2Ghent University, Department of Public Health, Nursing Science Unit, Belgium Correspondence to Dimitri Beeckman
James Maxwell Building, 57 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8WA, UK; dimitri.beeckman{at}kcl.ac.ukCommentary on: Brienza D, Kelsey S, Karg P, et al. A randomized clinical trial on preventing pressure ulcers with wheelchair seat cushions. J Am Geriatr Soc 2010; 58: 2308– 14.

? A pressure redistributing wheelchair cushion, used in a fitted wheelchair, is recommended to reduce the incidence of sitting-acquired pressure ulcers in nursing home residents.

? Selecting a wheelchair cushion must be a thought-out and well-advised decision and must be based on the expertise of a multidisciplinary team specialised in seating and mobility.

? Wheelchair fit and function must be monitored and adjusted frequently to avoid missing foot and arm rests which may cause more pressure and shear on the bony prominences.

? More research is needed to study the effect of repositioning protocols (posture and frequency) for at-risk patients seated in a wheelchair.

When seated in a chair, the body weight causes the greatest exposure to pressure over the ischial tuberosities. …

Free archive
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

View the original article here