Pressure ulcer prevention devices in the management of older patients at risk after hospital discharge: an SNDS study.

Objective: Our aim was to measure the effectiveness of home healthcare pressure ulcer (PU) prevention devices (PUPDs) for at-risk patients after hospital discharge in France.

Method: We conducted a retrospective analysis of PU-associated hospitalisations based on the French medico-administrative database (Système National des Données de Santé, SNDS), which covers the entire French population. All adults >70 years of age, hospitalised from 1 July to 31 December 2015, and equipped with a medical bed at home, were included.

Use of multilayer silicone foam dressings as adjuvant therapy to prevent pressure injuries.

Despite progress in the prevention of pressure injuries (PIs), they remain a challenging public health problem because of their frequency and morbidity. Protection of the skin by multilayer silicone foam dressings may be an adjuvant measure to prevent PIs in high-risk patients. Despite the available clinical data and published recommendations on this measure, caregivers face difficulties in identifying patients who would benefit from this adjuvant measure.

[Mobilising the team and the patient to prevent pressure ulcers].

The occurrence of a pressure ulcer can be considered as an avoidable adverse event. Its consequences are not only very harmful for the patient, but also in terms of the costs induced and for the nursing teams faced with the failure of the prevention treatment. For these reasons, nurses, nurse assistants and the multidisciplinary team must work together around a pressure ulcer prevention strategy.

[Role and missions of the mobile wound healing team].

The actions carried out by the mobile wounds and cicatrisation team of Bordeaux university hospital help to harmonise professional practices, with benefits for the hospital, the caregivers and the patients. Within the team, this "mentoring system" also strengthens the expertise of individual nurses. The results obtained over the last two years show that the scheme provides real added value in terms of the quality of care, in a context of a constant search for efficiency.

[The contribution of telemedicine in the management of pressure ulcers in palliative care].

The use of telemedicine in the treatment of pressure sores in palliative care. The benefit of telemedicine in nursing homes has been demonstrated notably in the case of pressure sores. It gives health professionals the possibility to establish valuable exchanges.