Prevention of pressure injury in the operating room: Heels operating room pressure injury trial

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of multi-layered silicone foam (intervention) compared with transparent polyurethane film (control) in preventing heel pressure injuries caused by surgical positioning of individuals undergoing elective surgery. It was designed an intra-patient, open, parallel, randomised controlled trial was conducted in a university hospital in southern Brazil, from March 2019 to February 2020, with patients undergoing elective surgeries of cardiac and gastrointestinal specialties. The patients who met the selection criteria constituted, simultaneously, a single group receiving the intervention and active control, through paired analysis of the cutaneous sites (right heel and left heel). The outcome was the occurrence of PI, within the follow-up period was 72 hours. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials: RBR-5GKNG5. There was analysis of 135 patients/270 heels, with an overall incidence of 36.7%. The pressure injury incidence was significantly lower in the intervention group (26.7%), compared with the control group (P = .001); relative risk of 0.57. In the intervention group, the estimated pressure injury-free time (survival) was 57.5 hours and in the control group, 43.9 hours. It was concluded that Multi-layered silicone foam (intervention) is more efficacious than transparent polyurethane film (control) in the prevention of pressure injuries caused by surgical positioning of individuals undergoing elective surgery.