Preventing recurrence after surgical repair of pressure injuries in patients with spinal cord injury: Effects of a presurgical and postsurgical wheelchair seating intervention by experts.

OBJECTIVE

Pressure injuries in people with spinal cord injury or dysfunction (SCI/D) are known to have a high recurrence rate. As a countermeasure, we perform surgery after adjusting the wheelchair and cushion with the intervention of a seating expert. The effectiveness of seating interventions in postsurgical recurrence prevention was examined.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this retrospective analysis, the participants were 19 patients with SCI/D who underwent pressure injury surgical treatment in the gluteal region from 2005 to 2018. The patients with conventional rehabilitation were assigned to Group 1 (n = 8), and those with seating intervention by experts in addition to conventional rehabilitation were assigned to Group 2 (n = 11). The main outcome measure was the presence or absence of recurrence 3 years after the surgery. The recurrence rate was compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

The recurrence rates were 18% with seating intervention and 75% without; there was a significant difference (p = 0.025). The recurrence odds ratio was 13.5.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that presurgical seating evaluation and assessment by experts, postsurgical rehabilitation based on presurgical evaluation and assessment, and routine follow-up and seating adjustment according to changes are efficacious for preventing postsurgical pressure injury recurrence in patients with SCI/D.