Qualitative Annotated Bibliography: The usefulness of mattresses in the prevention of pressure ulcers

The literature-based research studies the efficacy of alternate and traditional mattresses in reducing the risk of HAPUs. The Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Treatment tells the focus, understanding that public health challenges should be minimized amid the impact of bedsores on deteriorating the level of health for recovered patients. The report uses ten journals, where three are omitted because of the presence of other interventions in the final level. Of the seven included, five papers advocate the use of substitute mattresses, one used regular mattresses, and the last one was neutral in conclusion. The theoretical exploration of the study is critical in the development of the conceptual framework. Nevertheless, the number of studies is minuscule to support the arguments statistically.
The article concludes that alternative mattresses are effective in reducing the risk of the pathophysiology of PU over the standard ones. However, it notes there is a need for more scientific inquiries to confirm the suggestion, a view that justifies my exploration to build the robustness of data on the contribution of mattresses in tackling the problem.
Chou, R., Dana, T., Bougatsos, C., Blazina, I., Starmer, A., Reitel, K., & Buckley, D. (2013). Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment and Prevention. Annals Of Internal Medicine, 159(1), 28. http://dx.doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-159-1-201307020-00006
The comparative study is exploring instruments that can be adopted to estimate the risk of PU as well as the effectiveness of preventive strategies among high-risk individuals. The focus is founded on the premise that in spite of the perilousness associated with the condition, the public health problem can be contained through early detection as well as utilizing clinical evidence. The study employs a systematic review approach, where articles authored between 1946 and 2012 and housed by MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, as well as CINAHL are sorted out based a pre-determined criterion. The study reveals that protocolized intervention approaches are more efficacious in reducing the risk of PU when compared with non-standardized strategies. Similarly, static support surfaces minimize the chance of bedsore development than when standard mattresses are used. However, the investigation did not document any difference in the use of alternating air and low-air-loss mattresses.
One of the most important revelations of the study is that while surfaces are critical in offsetting the risk of PU, they need to be complemented by skin care methods, repositioning, as well as nutritional supplementation. Despite its contribution to the subject under consideration, the study exhibits significant shortfalls. For instance, the investigation reviews all factors underlying in skin ulceration, a broad-based approach that is open to methodical errors. It also fails to exploit the benefits of specificity in systematic reviews and includes article older than 50 years, a move that ignores the dynamicity of science.
Despite its shortfalls, the article’s conclusion that static surfaces are more effective in reducing the vulnerability of PU when compared with the standard mattresses supports the general subject of the exploration. Similarly, the view that protocols can help in early detection also finds enormous applicability in supporting the claims that PU is preventable.
McInnes, E., Jammali-Blasi, A., Bell-Syer, S., Dumville, J., Middleton, V., & Cullum, N. (2015). Support surfaces for pressure ulcer prevention. Cochrane Database Of Systematic Reviews. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd001735.pub5
The article is discussing a systemic review, which focused on investigating the contribution of pressure-relieving support materials in lowering the incidences when compared with standard support. Similarly, the content-based study wanted to document comparative efficaciousness of the approaches in preventing pressure injuries and sores. The study utilized six quasi-randomized trials and RCTs conducted in 2015, with the search process being pioneered by two independent review authors. The data collection process entailed pooling and meta-analysis. The findings revealed that foam alternative mattresses lowered the risk of developing bed sores. Nevertheless, the study pointed out that the effectiveness of foam mattresses in relieving postoperative pressure was unclear, as the experiments used expressed multiple views.
One of the most important aspects of the study is going beyond the efficacy and touching on common misconceptions surrounding the use of mattresses in preventing HAPUs. Acknowledging that merits of pressure surfaces as well as their economic consciousness remain unclear supports the problem statement. However, the systematic review only utilizes only six experiments, making it hard to quantify the attributive benefits using statistical tests.
The authors note that high-risk individuals should use foam mattresses over the standard ones. Nevertheless, the conclusion also notes that inconsistencies of the current literature on cost-effectiveness and merits have prevented the large-scale adoption of foam mattress in the medical field, justifying the need for exploring the subject of concern.
Nagamachi, M., Ishihara, S., Nakamura, M., & Morishima, K. (2013). Development of a pressure-ulcer-preventing mattress based on ergonomics and Kansei engineering. Gerontechnology, 11(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.4017/gt.2013.11.4.003.00
The industry-based paper is discussing the development of a PU-preventing mattress. The view that gerontechnology offers a promising future in preventing the condition is founded on anecdotal evidence, where low rebound mattresses are believed to offset the risk through distributing body pressure and allowing the moistures on the surface to evaporate. The engineering concept also works on the premise that the design prevents the development of gangrenes in the event of malnutrition and poor blood flow. Using pre-established measures as guided by the Ergonomics and Kansei Engineering concepts, the experimental study finds out that mattress made from polyester fibers as well as the integration of spring function have better air flow, and thus preventive ability.
The views of the article that the nature of surfaces can prevent the gangrenous development of the skin are critical in supporting the subject under consideration. However, the experiment has significant shortfalls, where testing the mattress using five hospitals is not an adequate number to link the attributive benefits with the design.
The article concludes that the mattress was responsible for reducing the incidence of HAPUs in the five hospitals where it was tested. While the results are open to challenge, the scope of the article is important in justifying the exploration that mattress features can reduce vulnerability to bedsores.
Richard-Denis, A., Thompson, C., & Mac-Thiong, J. (2017). The Effectiveness of multi-layer foam dressing in preventing sacral pressure ulcers for the early acute care of patients with a traumatic spinal cord injury: A Comparison with the use of a gel mattress. International Wound Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/iwj.12710
The comparative study is assessing the efficaciousness of a gel mattress and multi-layer form dressing in preventing sacral PU among patients with spinal cord trauma. Their vulnerability informs the focus on the group because of immobilization. The study engaged 315 paraplegic and quadriplegic patients admitted to a level-1 trauma hospital between 2010 and 2016. Between April 2010 and September 2014, the cases were assigned to a viscoelastic polymer gel mattress in emergency rooms on admission, an aspect that changed to foam stretcher pad with multi-layer foam dressing at the sacral-coccygeal region up to March of 2016. The study found out that 36% of tetraplegic patients using gel mattresses developed sacral pressure ulcers compared to the 82% assigned preventive dressing.
The study findings have immense relevance in supporting the arguments of the explorations. It points out that immobile patients have the highest risk of developing sacral PU. Nevertheless, the risk can be addressed by considering the materials used in making the surface. While the study has dealt with the influence of extraneous variables by documenting clinical and sociodemographic features of participants at the start of the cohort study, the documentation of the cases raises ethical concerns. The study only discusses the findings without highlighting measures adopted to deal with incidences among the participants.
While it acknowledges that some surfaces can help in offsetting the risk of PUs, the study concludes that immobile patients are equally vulnerable and should be handled with care. The view informs the opinion of the explorations that mattresses should not be used alone, but part of the prevention bundle. The view also highlights the need for deeper exploration, with the focus of documenting the set in the current efforts to offset the socioeconomic burden of decubitus ulcer