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Pressure mapping reduces hospital-acquired pressure ulcers up to 60%, study finds

New research published in WOUNDS demonstrates the potential to improve care for patients vulnerable to hospital-acquired pressure ulcers by using Wellsense’sMAP System, the continuous bedside pressure mapping system.

Mon Feb 25 2013By OR Today

New research published in WOUNDS demonstrates the potential to improve care for patients vulnerable to hospital-acquired pressure ulcers by using Wellsense’sMAP System, the continuous bedside pressure mapping system. The results of the study, “Pressure Map Technology for Pressure Sore Patients: Can We Handle the Truth?” published by Dr. Matthew Pompeo, a Thoracic and General Surgeon specializing in complex wounds, suggest that pressure mapping technology has the potential to reduce the overall incidence of pressure ulcers, commonly known as bed sores, by 50-60 percent.

“Pressure ulcers, which most health care professionals believe are largely preventable, remain a major problem, in terms of both human suffering and cost to the healthcare system,” said Pompeo. “Even with increased awareness of this issue, the number of pressure ulcers reported to Medicare increased 80 percent from 1993 to 2006. This pilot study demonstrated the potential of exciting new pressure mapping technology to assist caregivers in proving patient care.”

The study highlights a trial of the MAP System with 43 patients with pressure ulcers at a Long Term Acute Care Facility. Using the MAP System, the caregiver staff was able to achieve a 63 percent decrease in “damaging time,” the amount of time after two hours without pressure reduction, to vulnerable skin tissue.

The MAP System’s pressure sensing mat constantly measures pressure from thousands of discrete points. The variations in pressure across a patient’s body are depicted on a monitor, using a color scheme to help caregivers visualize high (red) to low (blue) pressure points, which enables them to identify and minimize areas of high pressure. The MAP System serves as an educational tool for caregivers by providing live, visual feedback as they reposition patients.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates 2.5 million people in the U.S. develop pressure ulcers per year and 60,000 die from complications. There are more than 500,000 U.S. hospital admissions per year in which pressure ulcers are either the primary or secondary diagnosis. The treatment of pressure ulcers costs the U.S. healthcare system approximately $11.5 billion each year. The incremental cost of extended hospitalizations due to HAPUs is up to $120,000 per ulcer. Medicare has deemed HAPUs as a ‘never event’ and will not pay for these incremental costs.

”If pain is the fifth vital sign, turning and pressure reduction may be the new sixth vital sign for wound patients, and this technology makes it possible to monitor it,” said Pompeo. “Pressure obviously cannot be observed or measured with the naked eye. Continuous pressure mapping has the potential to reduce the physical suffering and financial burden caused by pressure ulcers.”?

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