Paula Zeller ext. Pressure sores can form in less than two hours in bed-ridden people and those who use wheelchairs, and afflict hundreds of thousands of Americans, including nearly a quarter of nursing home patients and one in 10 hospital patients. If you have a mother, brother or other relative at risk of developing these problems, or who already have them, the consumer guide can help prevent serious damage and pain, and even death. They are the first to set out a research-based regimen for treating pressure sores. As many as 60 percent of quadriplegic patients have pressure sores, while 65 percent of elderly persons admitted for hip fractures are likely to develop them.
Preliminary reports show that earlier guidelines are already cutting costs in many facilities.
Intermountain plans to use the guidelines in all its hospitals and possibly its home health services. Dr. Gaus also said some states are using the guidelines to monitor quality of care in nursing homes. The new guidelines will be disseminated widely to nursing homes, hospitals, home health services, other organizations and consumers. Because recent studies have shown that nutritional deficiencies can delay the healing of pressure sores, the guidelines recommend caregivers guard against malnutrition, especially in older patients. The guidelines also say that setting time frames for pressure sores to heal is critically important.