Skin integrity in the pediatric population: preventing and managing pressure ulcers.

PURPOSE

To summarize clinical and empirical knowledge about pressure ulcers in infants and children and to describe an approach developed at Children's Hospital, Boston, to prevent and manage pressure ulcers.

POPULATION

Acutely ill children with potential or actual alteration in skin integrity due to pressure ulcers.

CONCLUSIONS

The three-pronged approach for pressure ulcer prevention and management developed by the Skin Care Task Force at the Children's Hospital, Boston, decreases unnecessary variation in practice surrounding the prevention and care of pressure ulcers in acutely ill children.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The Skin Care Task Force recommends use of Braden Q for pediatric risk assessment, a skin care algorithm for prevention of pressure ulcers, and a pressure ulcer algorithm for staging and managing pressure ulcers.