Silicone Foam Dressing for Prevention of Sacral Deep Tissue Injuries Among Cardiac Surgery Patients.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of silicone foam dressings, placed preoperatively, on the incidence of postoperative sacral deep-tissue pressure injuries.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: An uncontrolled before-and-after quality improvement method was used. Within a single, urban academic medical center, consecutively admitted adult cardiac surgery patients were included in the pre- and postintervention groups; only those receiving elective procedures were included.

INTERVENTION

Nurses applied a sacral silicone foam dressing preoperatively. This dressing was maintained on the patient's sacrum intraoperatively and postoperatively for up to 5 days in the intensive care and step-down units.

MAIN RESULTS

This project demonstrated a clinically significant decrease (P < .02) in the incidence of postoperative sacral deep-tissue pressure injuries from 2.3% (preintervention, n = 300) to 0% (postintervention, n = 224). These results were sustained for 24 months after the trial was completed.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of silicone foam dressings may be an effective prophylactic intervention to reduce the incidence of perioperative deep-tissue pressure injuries among cardiac surgery patients, a high-risk population.