Prevention of pressure ulcers with a motorized air support in at-risk patients hospitalized in rehabilitation departments APAM + an observational prevalence study with historical control and incidence study

Abstract

BacKGrOUNd: The main study was a cross-sectional multicenter study of the prevalence of pressure ulcers in rehabilitation services (rS) where axtair automorpho ® Plus mattresses were made available ad libitum. The primary objective was to enable comparison with prevalence as observed in the national PerSe study (historical control) in similar departments using a variety of prevention aids. meTHOdS: This cross-sectional prevalence study was combined with a prospective study of the incidence of pressure ulcer occurrence in the high-risk target population whose beds were systematically equipped with the studied support. reSULTS: On the day of the prevalence study, 18 of the 456 patients presented pressure ulcers which occurred during the period when axtair automorpho ® Plus supports were made available to the departments. This corresponds to a prevalence of 3.9% [2.4, 6.2] which is significantly lower than those recorded in the PerSe study: 11.8% [10.8; 12.8] p <0.0001. The ulcer incidence study covers 57 patients who were hospitalized on a bed with an axtair automorpho ® Plus support because of their risk of contracting pressure ulcers. One pressure ulcer occurred in 3 patients and 3 pressure ulcers occurred in another patient, i.e. 4 out of 57 corresponding to an incidence of 7.0% [2.0; 17.0]. cONcLUSiONS: The results of the pressure ulcer prevalence study in rehabilitation departments where axtair automorpho ® Plus supports were available as well as results of the study of pressure ulcer incidence in patients bedridden on axtair automorpho ® Plus, confirm the expected benefit provided to patients in terms of prevention.