Clinical signs and symptoms of diaper dermatitis in newborns, infants, and young children: A scoping review.

RATIONALE: Diaper dermatitis (DD) is a significant problem in the care of newborns, infants, and young children and good recognition of signs and symptoms optimises timely treatment. There is also a need for a standardised set of related descriptors to enable communication between health care providers about diagnosis and treatment. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to review the literature for descriptive words to define the clinical signs, symptoms, and characteristics, including anatomical locations and assessment scales or tools, in the newborn, infants and young children population who have been diagnosed with DD. METHODS: A systematic review process utilising PRISMA guidelines [1] was conducted using advanced search techniques to analyse the terms from the database thesauri and keywords. Data bases including Ovid MEDLINE® and Epub Ahead of Print, in-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Daily and Versions® were searched from 1946 to March 18, 2021. Cochrane Handbook Searching for and selecting studies were used as a guide and as best practice to conduct the search. RESULTS: Of the 551 publications originally identified, 55 full text publications were examined and 21 met the inclusion criteria. The wide range of descriptors used in the literature for DD supports the need for a clearer approach to report the signs and symptoms, and the severity, of DD. CONCLUSIONS: These findings point to gaps in the literature, both in recording signs and symptoms of DD and features such as wetness, infection, anatomical location, severity and pain in newborns, infants, and young children. There is a need to develop a robust methodological tool to bridge the gap and link a common terminology on signs and symptoms to support diagnosis of the severity of DD.

Development and Psychometric Testing of a Knowledge Instrument on Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis for Clinicians: The Know-IAD.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the development and evaluation of the psychometric properties of an instrument used to assess clinician knowledge of Incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD). DESIGN: The instrument was developed in three phases: Phase 1 involved item development; Phase 2 evaluated content validity of the instrument by surveying clinicians and stakeholders within a single state of Australia and, Phase 3 used a pilot multisite cross-sectional survey design to determine composite reliability and evaluate scores of the knowledge tool. SUBJECTS AND SETTINGS: In Phase 1, the instrument was developed by five persons with clinical and research subject expertise in the area of IAD. In Phase 2, content validity was evaluated by a group of 13 clinicians (nurses, physicians, occupational therapists, dietitians, and physiotherapists) working in acute care across one Australian state, New South Wales, along with two consumer representatives. In Phase 3, clinicians, working across six hospitals in New South Wales and on wards with patients diagnosed with incontinence-associated dermatitis, participated in pilot-testing the instrument. METHODS: During Phase 1, a group of local and international experts developed items for a draft tool based on an international consensus document, our prior research evaluating incontinence-associated dermatitis knowledge, and agreement among an expert panel of clinicians and researchers. Phase 2 used a survey design to determine content validity of the knowledge tool. Specifically, we calculated item- and scale-level content validity ratios and content validity indices for all questions within the draft instrument. Phase 3 comprised pilot-testing of the knowledge tool using a cross-sectional survey. Analysis involved confirmatory factor analysis to confirm the hypothesized model structure of the knowledge tool, as measured by model goodness-of-fit. Composite reliability testing was undertaken to determine the extent of internal consistency between constituent items of each construct. RESULTS: During Phase 1, a draft version of the Barakat-Johnson Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis Knowledge tool (Know-IAD), comprising 19 items and divided into three domains of IAD-related knowledge: 1) Etiology and Risk, 2) Classification and Diagnosis, and 3) Prevention and Management was developed. In Phase 2, 18 of the 19 items demonstrated high scale content validity ratios scores on relevance (0.75) and clarity (0.82); and high scale-content validity indices scores on relevance (0.87) and clarity (0.91). In Phase 3, the final 18-item Know-IAD tool demonstrated construct validity by a model goodness-of-fit. Construct validity was excellent for the Etiology and Risk domain (root mean squared error=0.02) and Prevention and Management domain (root mean squared error=0.02); it was good for the Classification and Diagnosis domain (root mean squared error=0.04). Composite reliability (CR) was good in the Etiology and Risk domain (CR=0.76), Prevention and Management domains (CR=0.75), and adequate in the Classification and Diagnosis domain (CR=0.64). Respondents had good understanding of etiology and risk (72.6% correct responses); fairly good understanding of prevention and management of IAD (64.0% correct responses) and moderate understanding of classification and diagnosis (40.2% correct responses). CONCLUSIONS: The Know-IAD demonstrated good psychometric properties and provides preliminary evidence that it can be applied to evaluate clinician knowledge on IAD.

Development and psychometric property testing of a skin tear knowledge assessment instrument (OASES) in 37 countries.

AIM: To develop and psychometrically evaluate a skin tear knowledge assessment instrument (OASES). DESIGN: Prospective psychometric instrument validation study. METHOD: The skin tear knowledge assessment instrument was developed based on a literature review and expert input (N = 19). Face and content validity were assessed in a two-round Delphi procedure by 10 international experts affiliated with the International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP). The instrument was psychometrically tested in a convenience sample of 387 nurses in 37 countries (April-May 2020). Validity of the multiple-choice test items (item difficulty, discriminating index, quality of the response alternatives), construct validity, and test-retest reliability (stability) were analysed and evaluated in light of international reference standards. RESULTS: A 20-item instrument, covering six knowledge domains most relevant to skin tears, was designed. Content validity was established (CVI = 0.90-1.00). Item difficulty varied between 0.24 and 0.94 and the quality of the response alternatives between 0.01-0.52. The discriminating index was acceptable (0.19-0.77). Participants with a theoretically expected higher knowledge level had a significantly higher total score than participants with theoretically expected lower knowledge (p < .001). The 1-week test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.83 (95% CI = 0.78-0.86) for the full instrument and varied between 0.72 (95% CI = 0.64-0.79) and 0.85 (95% CI = 0.81-0.89) for the domains. Cohen's Kappa coefficients of the individual items ranged between 0.21 and 0.74. CONCLUSION: The skin tear knowledge assessment instrument is supported by acceptable psychometric properties and can be applied in nursing education, research, and practice to assess knowledge of healthcare professionals about skin tears. IMPACT: Prevention and treatment of skin tears are a challenge for healthcare professionals. The provision of adequate care is based on profound and up-to-date knowledge. None of the existing instruments to assess skin tear knowledge is psychometrically tested, nor up-to-date. OASES can be used worldwide to identify education, practice, and research needs and priorities related to skin tears in clinical practice.

Predicting Neonatal Skin Injury: The First Step to Reducing Skin Injuries in Neonates.

BACKGROUND: Skin injuries remain common in neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units. While predicting neonates at risk of skin injury may assist in reducing the incidence of injury, currently there is limited evidence on which tool may be superior. METHODS: A prospective study was completed during November-December 2016 to evaluate the predictive value of the Skin Risk Assessment and Management Tool (SRAMT). Comparisons were made between SRAMT and Neonatal/Infant Braden-Q Scale (BQS) as well as staff's capacity to predict a neonate's risk of skin injury. Data collected included gestation, weight, day of assessment, injury types, causation, medical devices in situ and risk scores. RESULTS: In total, 248 assessments were completed with 38% (93) recorded skin injuries. Median (interquartile range) gestation and weight at assessment were 36.7 (26.86-56.86) weeks and 2.44 (0.99-4.06) kg, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed the SRAMT had AUC (SE) of 0.94 (0.02) compared with 0.82 (0.03) for BQS (0.011, P < .001). The SRAMT and BQS had sensitivity of [(90.0 (80.5-95.9), 72.86 (60.9-82.8)] and specificity [(88.46 (81.7-93.4), 79.23 (71.2-85.8)], respectively. CONCLUSION: In this study, the SRAMT's capacity to predict neonates at risk of injury was higher than the Neonatal BQS and staff. Predicting injuries remains complex and often multifactorial.

Core outcome domains in incontinence-associated dermatitis research.

AIM: To report the development of a core set of outcome domains for clinical research involving adults with incontinence-associated dermatitis or at risk, independently from any geographical location or skin colour. BACKGROUND: The management of incontinence-associated dermatitis is important in caring for incontinent patients. The lack of comparability of clinical trial outcomes is a major challenge in the field of evidence-based incontinence-associated dermatitis prevention and treatment. Core outcome sets may therefore be helpful to improve the value of clinical incontinence-associated dermatitis research. DESIGN: Systematic literature review, patient interviews and consensus study using Delphi procedure. METHODS: A list of outcome domains was generated through a systematic literature review (no date restrictions-April 2016), consultation of an international steering committee and three patient interviews. The project team reviewed and refined the outcome domains prior to starting a three-round Delphi procedure conducted between April-September 2017. The panellists, including healthcare providers, researchers and industry were invited to rate the importance of the outcome domains. RESULTS: We extracted 1,852 outcomes from 244 articles. Experts proposed 56 and patients 32 outcome domains. After refinement, 57 panellists from 17 countries rated a list of 58 outcome domains. The final list of outcome domains includes erythema, erosion, maceration, IAD-related pain and patient satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Erythema, erosion, maceration, incontinence-associated dermatitis -related pain and patient satisfaction are the most important outcome domains to be measured in incontinence-associated dermatitis trials. Based on this international consensus on what to measure, the question of how to measure these domains now requires consideration. Registration: This project has been registered in the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET Initiative) database and is part of the Cochrane Skin Group-Core Outcomes Set Initiative (CSG-COUSIN).

Skin tear prevention and management among patients in the acute aged care and rehabilitation units in the Australian Capital Territory: a best practice implementation project.

BACKGROUND: A skin tear is a traumatic wound that results from the separation of the skin layers due to shearing forces, friction or blunt trauma that affects all people. Numerous preventative measures aim to reduce the skin tears and minimise conditions that predispose the epidermis to injury. With the increasing elderly population in acute aged care, implementation of an evidence-based guideline is critical as changes to ageing skin integrity make this population more susceptible to skin tear. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: The aim of this project was to ensure the practice of skin tear assessment, prevention and management among acute aged care causes and rehabilitation patients was performed according to best available evidence. METHODS: This project utilised a pre- and post-implementation audit design using the Joanna Briggs Institute Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System and Getting Research into Practice programs. The project was conducted from June to November 2010 with the audits conducted in the acute aged care and rehabilitation units of two public hospitals in the Australian Capital Territory involving a sample size of 96 patients at pre-audit and 95 patient at post-audit admitted during the audit period. A convenience sample of 20 nurses also consented to be observed. The audits were conducted after obtaining ethics approval and consent from patients and nurses. RESULTS: The results showed a significant change in compliance to the skin tear guidelines at post-implementation audit. Staff education in particular had a dramatic increase from 20% to 98% and the point prevalence rate of hospital-acquired skin tear decreased from 10% to 0.15%. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: This project emphasised the importance of education of all personnel involved in patient care and that a simple assessment of skin integrity is critical in preventing and managing skin tear especially among the susceptible elderly population.