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Frontiers in Bioengineering and... 2024Clinically, air insoles may be applied to shoes to decrease plantar pressure gradient (PPG) and increase plantar gradient angle (PGA) to reduce foot ulcers. PPG and PGA...
Clinically, air insoles may be applied to shoes to decrease plantar pressure gradient (PPG) and increase plantar gradient angle (PGA) to reduce foot ulcers. PPG and PGA may cause skin breakdown. The effects of different inner pressures of inflatable air insoles on dynamic PPG and PGA distributions are largely unknown in non-diabetics and people with diabetes. This study aimed to explore the impact of varying inner air insole pressures on PPG and PGA to establish early mitigation strategies for people at risk of foot ulcers. A repeated measures study design, including three air insoles (80 mmHg, 160 mmHg, and 240 mmHg) and two walking durations (10 and 20 min) for a total of six walking protocols, was tested on 13 healthy participants (height, 165.8 ± 8.4 cm; age, 27.0 ± 7.3 years; and weight, 56.0 ± 7.9 kg, BMI: 20.3 ± 1.7 kg/m^2) over three consecutive weeks. PPG, a measurement of the spatial variation in plantar pressure around the peak plantar pressure (PPP) and PGA, a variation in the gradient direction values at the three plantar regions, big toe (T1), first metatarsal head (M1), and second metatarsal head (M2), were calculated. This study indicated that PPG was lower at 80 mmHg air insoles after 20 min of walking in the M1 region ( = 0.010). The PGA in the M2 increased at an air insole of 80 mmHg compared to 240 mmHg ( = 0.015). Compared to 20 min, the 10 min walking duration at 240 mmHg of air insole had the lowest PPG in the M1 ( = 0.015) and M2 ( = 0.034) regions. The 80 mmHg air insole significantly lowered the PPG compared to a 160 mmHg and 240 mmHg air insole. Moreover, the 80 mmHg air insole significantly decreased PPP and increased PGA compared to the 160 mmHg and 240 mmHg air insole. A shorter walking period (10 min) significantly lowered PPG. The findings of this study suggest that people with a higher risk of foot ulcers should wear softer air insoles to have a lower PPG, as well as an increased PGA.
PubMed: 38529404
DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1353888 -
Scientific Reports Mar 2024The actual prevalence of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Malaysia is unknown. We aimed to determine the prevalence of DKD and its...
The actual prevalence of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Malaysia is unknown. We aimed to determine the prevalence of DKD and its associated risk factors among T2D patients in Malaysia. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using the year 2022 clinical audit dataset from the National Diabetes Registry. DKD was defined as albuminuria, a decreased glomerular filtration rate, or both. Among 80,360 patients, 62.2% were female, 68.4% were Malay, and the mean age was 61.4 years. A total of 56.7% (95% CI 56.4-57.1%) of patients were found to have DKD. Increasing age, male sex, Malay ethnicity, longer duration of diabetes, overweight, obesity, hypertension, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic foot ulcer, nontraumatic lower-extremity amputation, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, insulin, higher numbers of antihypertensive agents, antiplatelet agents, poorer HbA1c control, higher systolic blood pressure, non-achievement of triglyceride target, and non-attainment of HDL-cholesterol goal were independent risk factors associated with DKD. Clinicians, program managers, and health policymakers should target modifiable factors to manage DKD and prevent its progression to end-stage kidney disease in Malaysia.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Middle Aged; Diabetic Nephropathies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Prevalence; Cross-Sectional Studies; Risk Factors
PubMed: 38528132
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57723-6 -
Internal Medicine (Tokyo, Japan) Mar 2024Home healthcare is important for allowing patients to live their lives. However, home-care bedridden patients often experience pressure ulcers in the lower extremities,...
Amputation-free Home Management of Infected Lower Extremity Pressure Ulcer through Shared Decision-making: Enhancing the Quality of Life and Highlighting Societal Significance in Home Care.
Home healthcare is important for allowing patients to live their lives. However, home-care bedridden patients often experience pressure ulcers in the lower extremities, which can lead to life-threatening infections requiring decisions on the need for amputation. We herein report a patient with an infected lower-limb pressure ulcer with a history of spinal injury. The patient, his family, and the home-care physician repeatedly shared decision-making to deliver home-based treatment instead of amputation. Administration of wound dressing, AQUACEL Ag, led to complete epithelialization. Such shared decision-making and dressing were feasible in a home-care setting and broadened its scope.
PubMed: 38522909
DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.2881-23 -
Intensive & Critical Care Nursing Aug 2024The Braden scale, one of the most widely used risk assessment tools is often criticized when used in the Intensive Care Unit. Most patients in the Intensive Care Unit... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
BACKGROUND
The Braden scale, one of the most widely used risk assessment tools is often criticized when used in the Intensive Care Unit. Most patients in the Intensive Care Unit are at risk of pressure ulcer development meaning that the Braden score will usually indicate high risk for these patients. This study set out to determine the correlation between Sub-Epidermal Moisture measurements and Braden scores among Intensive Care Unit patients.
METHODS
This study employed an observational research design. Braden score was assessed on all study days (1-5), in addition to visual skin assessment and Sub-Epidermal Moisture measurements at the sacrum and heels. Sub-Epidermal Moisture measurements were categorised as low (<0.5), borderline abnormal (≥0.5), and high (≥0.8). Correlation was assessed between Sub-Epidermal Moisture levels and Braden scores.
RESULTS
A total of 53 participants were recruited. The median (interquartile range) baseline Braden score was 9 (9-10) and 81 % (n = 43) of participants were at very high/high risk of pressure ulcer development. Braden scores remained relatively constant over time with little fluctuation in scores. 19 % (n = 10) of patients had normal (<0.5) Sub-Epidermal Moisture delta measurements on enrolment, and all developed abnormal measurements by day 2. There were no significant correlations between Braden scores and Sub-Epidermal Moisture measurements.
CONCLUSION
Although this was not its original intention, a missing link with the Braden scale is that it does not provide information on how patients are responding to the adverse effects of pressure and shear forces. Furthermore, in patients who are critically unwell, most patients are classified as being "at risk" of pressure ulcer development. Therefore, an objective measure of how patients are responding to pressure and shear forces at different anatomical areas is needed.
IMPLICATIONS TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
Sub-Epidermal Moisture measurements can offer more information, not only on identifying those who are at risk, but also how those patients are tolerating this risk at different anatomical sites.
Topics: Humans; Pressure Ulcer; Intensive Care Units; Male; Female; Risk Assessment; Middle Aged; Aged; Risk Factors; Adult
PubMed: 38518456
DOI: 10.1016/j.iccn.2024.103681 -
Intensive & Critical Care Nursing Aug 2024To analyse the psychometric properties of the Braden scale to assess pressure injury risk in adults in intensive care. (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
To analyse the psychometric properties of the Braden scale to assess pressure injury risk in adults in intensive care.
DESIGN
A systematic review was conducted, with literature searches undertaken in five electronic databases. No date limits were applied. Selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment were completed by two reviewers independently. A customised data extraction template was used, with risk of bias conducted using the COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist. Data were analysed using narrative synthesis.
RESULTS
Thirty-four studies met inclusion criteria. Two studies reported internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha ranging from poor (0.43) to good (0.85). For interrater reliability, only four studies reported intraclass correlation, ranging from 0.66 to 0.96 for Braden sum score. Three studies reported convergent validity, with strong associations found between the COMHON Index (r = 0.70), Cubbin-Jackson scale (r = 0.80), and Norton scale (r = 0.77), but contrasting associations with the Waterlow score (r = 0.22 to 0.72). A large majority of studies reported predictive validity (n = 29), with wide variability. Several studies investigated optimal cut-off scores, with the majority indicating this was in the range of 12-14.
CONCLUSIONS
This review demonstrates inconsistency in the psychometric properties of the Braden scale in ICU settings. Further research is needed to determine suitability of the Braden scale for ICU before it can be recommended as standard for clinical practice, including comparison with other ICU-specific risk assessment tools.
IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE
When used in ICU, the reliability, validity and reported cut-off scores of the Braden scale are variable. As a predictive tool, the scale should be used cautiously. In ICU, the value of the Braden scale resides in its ability to identify patients that are most at risk of developing a pressure injury and to implement preventative measures to mitigate identified risk factors.
Topics: Humans; Pressure Ulcer; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; Intensive Care Units; Risk Assessment; Critical Care
PubMed: 38518454
DOI: 10.1016/j.iccn.2024.103686 -
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine 2024Penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU) represents a subset of acute aortic syndromes characterized by high rupture risk and management challenges, particularly in elderly...
Penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU) represents a subset of acute aortic syndromes characterized by high rupture risk and management challenges, particularly in elderly patients with significant comorbidities. This case report showcases a 75-year-old patient with a history of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and with multiple PAUs involving the aortic arch, deemed unfit for conventional open surgery. A branched aortic endograft with a pre-cannulated side component for the left subclavian artery (LSA) was employed to preserve the patency of the previous CABG. Two computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and a morphological analysis were performed on the pre- and post-intervention aortic configurations to evaluate changes in flow rate and pressure drop at LSA level and differences in the lumen size. The results revealed a decrease in the flow rate equal to 2.38% after the intervention and an increase in pressure drop of 4.48 mmHg, while the maximum differences in LSA cross-sectional areas and diameters were 1.49 cm and 0.64 cm, respectively. Minimal alteration in LSA blood flow due to the chosen intervention approach confirmed the effectiveness of the selected unibody design endograft with LSA preservation, ensuring myocardial perfusion. Therefore, CFD simulations demonstrate to be a powerful tool to evaluate the hemodynamic consequences of interventions by accurately estimating the main fluid dynamic parameters.
PubMed: 38510196
DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2024.1309840 -
Critical Care (London, England) Mar 2024To evaluate the effects of our self-developed endotracheal tube fixation device in mechanically ventilated patients. (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of our self-developed endotracheal tube fixation device in mechanically ventilated patients.
METHODS
In a dual-centre randomised controlled trial, patients who were expected to require mechanical ventilation for over 48 h were assigned to the observation group (using self-developed device) or the control group (using the traditional device). The primary endpoint was the incidence of endotracheal intubation-related pressure injury (EIRPI).
RESULTS
Fifty-one patients in the observation group and 54 patients in the control group were analysed. The incidence of EIRPI was 7.8% in the observation group and 33.3% in the control group (p = 0.001). Lip pressure injury (PI) occurred in 0 versus 14 (25.9%) patients in the observation versus control groups (p < 0.001). Both oral-mucosal and facial PIs were similar between the two groups.
CONCLUSIONS
The use of the novel device reduced the incidence of EIRPI, especially lip PI. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2300078132. Registered on 29 November 2023.
Topics: Humans; Pressure Ulcer; Intubation, Intratracheal; Respiration, Artificial
PubMed: 38504251
DOI: 10.1186/s13054-024-04874-7 -
BMJ Open Mar 2024To identify barriers and facilitators to pressure ulcer prevention behaviours in community-dwelling older people and their lay carers.
OBJECTIVE
To identify barriers and facilitators to pressure ulcer prevention behaviours in community-dwelling older people and their lay carers.
DESIGN
Theoretically informed qualitative interviews with two-phase, deductive then inductive, thematic analysis.
SETTING
The study was conducted in one geographical region in the UK, spanning several community National Health Service Trusts.
PARTICIPANTS
Community-dwelling older patients at risk of pressure ulcer development (n=10) and their lay carers (n=10).
RESULTS
Six themes and subthemes were identified: (1) knowledge and beliefs about consequences (nature, source, timing and taboo); (2) social and professional role and influences (who does what, conflicting advice and disagreements); (3) motivation and priorities (competing self-care needs and carer physical ability); (4) memory; (5) emotion (carer exhaustion and isolation, carergiver role conflict and patient feelings) and (6) environment (human resource shortage and equipment).
CONCLUSIONS
There is minimal research in pressure ulcer prevention in community-dwelling older people. This study has robustly applied the theoretical domains framework to understanding barriers and facilitators to pressure ulcer prevention behaviours. Our findings will support co-design of strategies to promote preventative behaviours and are likely to be transferable to comparable healthcare systems nationally and internationally.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Caregivers; Pressure Ulcer; State Medicine; Qualitative Research; Motivation
PubMed: 38503413
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-080398 -
Heliyon Mar 2024Many clinical management strategies have been proposed to deal with diabetic foot ulcers. However, the occurrence and recurrence of foot ulcers remain the major problems...
Many clinical management strategies have been proposed to deal with diabetic foot ulcers. However, the occurrence and recurrence of foot ulcers remain the major problems for diabetics. This study aims to identify, visualize, and characterize the meta-analyses on diabetic foot ulcer research. Articles published online were retrieved from the Web of Science core collection database using a search query incorporating MeSH terms and topics related to diabetic foot ulcers and meta-analysis. The publications were then analyzed for basic characteristics, including publication year, countries, topics covered, references, and keywords discussed in the articles. Data visualization was performed using CiteSpace. 334 meta-analyses and systematic reviews on diabetic foot ulcers were identified. The number of publications has experienced rapid growth in recent years (nearly 6-fold since 2016). The United States, China, Netherlands, England, and Australia had a strong collaboration in the contribution of publication. 7 primary topics were summarized from the top 100 highly cited publications: #1 Interventions (proportion: 59%), #2 Risk factors and Prevention (22%), #3 Epidemiology analysis (6%), #4 Cost-effectiveness of interventions (5%), #5 Long-term prognosis (3%), #6 Quality of life analysis (3%), and #7 Economic burden analysis (2%). Footwear and offloading interventions, multidisciplinary care, hyperbaric oxygen, platelet-rich plasma, and negative pressure wound therapies are highly regarded in terms of intervention. Diabetic foot osteomyelitis, peripheral diabetic neuropathy, chronic limb-threatening ischemia, and infections are the main comorbidities. In recent years, offloading interventions, debridement, telemedicine, long-term prognosis, and economic burden analyses have gradually received attention. Individualized treatment, multidisciplinary collaboration, quality of life considerations, and economic burden analyses are the long-term concerns.
PubMed: 38496839
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27534 -
International Wound Journal Mar 2024A meta-analysis was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the impact of cluster nursing interventions on the prevention of pressure ulcers (PUs) in intensive care unit... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
A meta-analysis was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the impact of cluster nursing interventions on the prevention of pressure ulcers (PUs) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Computer searches were performed in databases including Embase, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Wanfang and China National Knowledge Infrastructure for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) implementing cluster nursing interventions for PUs prevention in ICU patients, with the search period covering the database inception to November 2023. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data and conducted quality assessments. Stata 17.0 software was employed for data analysis. Overall, 17 RCTs involving 1463 ICU patients were included. The analysis showed that compared with conventional nursing, cluster nursing interventions significantly reduced the incidence of PUs (odds ratio: 0.24, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.17-0.34, p < 0.001) and also significantly improved the levels of anxiety (standardized mean difference [SMD]: -1.39, 95% CI: -1.57 to 1.22, p < 0.001) and depression (SMD: -1.64, 95% CI: -2.02 to 1.26, p < 0.001) in ICU patients. This study indicates that the application of cluster nursing interventions in ICU patients can effectively reduce the incidence of PUs, as well as improve patients' anxiety and depression levels, thereby enhancing their quality of life, which is worth clinical promotion and application.
Topics: Humans; Pressure Ulcer; Critical Care; Anxiety; Intensive Care Units; Suppuration
PubMed: 38494661
DOI: 10.1111/iwj.14776