Evaluation of treatments for wounds in clinical trials

An overview of randomised controlled trials focusing on research which has evaluated compression bandaging as a therapy for venous ulceration

Intrinsic factors associated with pressure sores in elderly people

As a preliminary to a larger, prospective study of intrinsic factors associated with pressure sore development in a population of elderly hospital in-patients, this retrospective study of patients who had participated in an earlier, unrelated study was completed. The results of biochemical and haematological analyses from admission, together with details of nursing care, were obtained from medical and nursing notes, and analysed in relation to the condition of the pressure areas of each patient, which had been documented by a single observer throughout the period of study. The relationships between intrinsic factors such as serum protein concentration and systolic blood pressure, and the presence of, or tendency to develop pressure sores is examined and discussed in the light of a need for more specific and sensitive risk assessment tools.

Matching patient need for pressure sore prevention with the supply of pressure redistributing mattresses

The authors have conducted a series of pressure sore prevalence surveys within one health district over a 4-year period. Additional surveys of the availability and deployment of pressure redistributing (PR) bed mattresses have also been made within the same district. The prevalence of pressure sores increased from 6.8% (1986) to 14.2% (1989) while the available stocks of PR mattresses increased from 69 (1987) to 186 (1989). Our results appear to question the common assumption that successful pressure sore prevention can be achieved through expanding the stocks of PR mattresses. Five possible reasons why the increase in mattress provision was matched with an increased prevalence of pressure sores are forwarded. The use of measures of prevalence rather than incidence rates to monitor the effects of clinical initiatives is discussed.