Pressure Ulcer Essay

Pressure ulcers are “ischemic wounds in the skin and underlying tissues caused by long-standing pressure force over an external bone or cartilaginous surface” (Guillén-Solà 2013). Pressure ulcers are a challenging part of the healthcare system due to prolong patient hospitalization and a reduction in the patient’s quality of life, since many patients that are in the hospital are there for either chronic conditions or intensive surgery, which may require an extensive and long term stay. Moreover, “95% of pressure ulcers are avoidable”, which suggests that pressure ulcers may be caused by “poor quality care assistance”, rather than only caused by a patient’s prolonged hospitalization (Guillén-Solà 2013). Pressure ulcers are not just a challenge
Hydrocolloid dressings “can provide moist wound healing in the case of pressure sores and can promote angiogenesis and fibrinolysis” (Hoffman 1996). The promotion of angiogenesis and fibrinolysis speeds up the healing of pressure ulcers, which allows for the patient’s quality of care to improve. There was a study into the performance of hydrocolloid dressings and hydrocolloid gel which found that the time between dressing changes was longer than with other treatment options, and the “combination was effective in debriding sloughy wounds and some patients thought the gel reduced their pain” (Hoffman 1996). Originally, hydrocolloid dressings were developed to function as part of the “stomal flange” in diabetic foot ulcers; however, because of the hydrocolloid dressing success in protecting patient’s skin, the dressings were introduced gradually into other areas of wound care. Hydrocolloid dressings contain “wafers of gel-forming polymers, such as gelatin, pectin, and cellulose agents, within a flexible water-resistant outer layer…the wafers absorb wound exudate, forming a gel and creating a moist healing