TNMC & WANS International Nursing Research Conference 2017

Jinpitcha Mamom, An Innovative Repositioning Bed: Instrument for Preventing Pressure Ulcers, TNMC & WANS International Nursing Research Conference 2017, October 20-22, 2017

​Introduction: A pressure ulcer, also known as pressure sore, decubitus ulcer, or bedsore, can be defined as a localized injury to the skin/ tissue occurring most often over a bony prominence and caused by mechanical loading: pressure, shearing, or friction. Pressure ulcers are a common cause of complications among immobilized patients that the immobilization is acceptable caused localized ischemia, which is a result of tissue deformation related to prolonged loading.
Objectives: To develop an innovative repositioning bed that promotes patients’ proper postures and positions, and to evaluate its efficacy in reducing ischemia, which can lead to tissue hypoxia, cell death, and pressure ulcer development.
Methods and Results: This new innovative bed differs from a conventional hospital bed, as the movement of the patient to the left or the right, and also the raising of the head and knees, can be controlled in order to prevent pressure ulcers. This is compatible with the NPUAP (2014) principle of the clinical practice guideline on pressure ulcer prevention. This bed design has 0-30 degrees of movement for the head level, 0-45 degrees for the knee level, and 30 degrees of lateral tilt to reduce interface pressure on the bony prominences, preventing friction and shearing force and thus allowing higher tissue perfusion and blood flow.
Conclusion: The repositioning of immobile patients is an important standard nursing practice that is based on the principle of mechanical loading management, including redistributing interface pressures, decreasing shearing stress, and reducing skin temperature.  This innovative repositioning bed was developed based on physics for nursing science and on nursing standards in order to effectively enable patients to properly reposition themselves at proper angles and in proper positions.  This innovative bed could be used to prevent pressure ulcers that are complications in the growing population of elderly patients incapable of repositioning themselves