Relationship between nutritional goals and pressure injuries in critical care patients receiving enteral nutrition.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between pressure injury (PI) development and achievement of nutritional goals (protein and caloric), as well as consider the clinical conditions, hospitalisation factors, and risk assessment for PI development in patients who are critically ill and receiving enteral nutrition (EN) in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHOD: An observational cohort study was conducted in the ICU of the University Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. Inclusion criteria were as follows: age ≥18 years; length of ICU stay ≥24 hours; without PI at ICU admission; and receiving EN exclusively during ICU stay. The development of PI was considered the dependent variable. The Chi-squared test was applied to compare categorical variables, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare continuous variables between groups of patients with and without a PI. The analysis of the achievement of nutritional goals was performed using Fisher's exact test. A significance level of 5% (p-value<0.05) and a confidence interval (CI) of 95% was adopted in all statistical tests. RESULTS: A total of 181 patients met the inclusion criteria, of whom 102 (56.4%) were male and 79 (43.6%) were female. Mean age was 55.1 years, and mean length of ICU stay was 17.5 days. PI development was associated with not achieving nutritional goals. There was a higher percentage (65.3%) of patients without a PI when both protein and caloric goals were achieved. In contrast, 45.6% of patients developed a PI when the goals were not achieved. The mean days for sedation, vasoactive drugs and mechanical ventilation were all significantly higher in patients who developed a PI (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: There was a significant association between patients developing a PI and deficits in caloric and protein intake. Patients who did not develop PIs had a greater calorie and protein intake compared with those who developed a PI.

Is there a relationship between nutritional goal achievement and pressure injury risk in intensive care unit patients receiving enteral nutrition?

OBJECTIVES: To assess pressure injury risk and time until pressure injury development according to the achievement of nutritional goals, i.e. caloric and protein intake within the first 72 hours of the intensive care admission. METHOD: Prospective observational cohort study conducted in two units at a public university hospital. The development of pressure injury was considered the dependent variable. Survival curves were prepared with the Kaplan Meier method. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the development of pressure injury. RESULTS: The study sample included 181 patients, of which 56.4% were male and the average age was 55 years. Neurological pathologies were the most frequent cause of hospitalisation (44.8%). The average length of stay was 17.5 days and mortality 30.4%. With regards to nutritional goals, 105 patients (58.0%) achieved their caloric goal, 130 (71.8%) achieved protein goals, and 98 (54.1%) achieved both. The frequency of pressure injury occurrence was 31.5%. Caloric intake (hazard ratio [HR] 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24-4.36) and protein intake (HR 3.21, 95% CI 1.76-5.86), were identified as independently associated with pressure injury development. Higher Braden scores were identified as a protective factor (HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.56-0.77). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the time to pressure injury development in the group of patients who did not achieve nutritional goals was shorter compared to those who achieved nutritional goals. Further studies should be conducted to confirm these data and to study the relationships in greater detail.

Pressure ulcers in the intensive care unit: the relationship between nursing workload, illness severity and pressure ulcer risk.

Aims and objective. To verify association between PU development with nursing workload and illness severity and to verify whether nursing workload and illness severity are related with Braden Scale scores. Background. Critically ill patients are more susceptible to treatment complications because of the severity of their clinical condition. Design. Prospective descriptive study. Methods. Patients consecutively admitted to three intensive care units (ICUs) of a public university hospital located in Sao Paulo, Brazil and without pressure ulcer (PU) at admission and a minimum stay of 24 hours were included in the sample. Prospective data collection included demographic, clinical and hospitalisation data, Nursing Activities Score (NAS), Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPSII) and Braden Scale. Multivariate linear regression analysis was applied to verify whether nursing workload and illness severity are related with Braden Scale scores. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to verify whether nursing workload and illness severity were risk factors associated with PU development. Results. The study sample included 160 patients. The mean Braden score was 12·0 and PU incidence was 34·4%. Multivariate linear regression analysis identified as factors related to variation of Braden scores: illness severity (SAPSII), nursing workload (NAS) and age. Multivariate logistic regression showed a model with risk factors associated with PU development: sex, length of ICU stay, illness severity and nursing workload. Conclusion. Nursing workload, severity of illness, sex and length of ICU stay were identified as risk factors associated with PU development. However, nursing workload acted as a protective factor. Illness severity, nursing workload and age were related to Braden scores. Relevance to clinical practice. Accurate identification of risk factors and the use of clinical judgment in skin assessment are prerequisites for determining appropriate strategies to prevent pressure ulcers, to improve quality of care for patient safety and to reduce length of ICU and hospital stay and costs.

Úlcera por pressão: risco e gravidade do paciente e carga de trabalho de enfermagem / Úlcera por decúbito: riesgo y gravedad del paciente y carga de trabajo de enfermería / Pressure ulcer: patient risk, patient acuity, and nursing workload

OBJETIVOS: Verificar a associação entre ocorrência de úlcera por pressão (UP) em pacientes em estado crítico com escores da escala de Braden, gravidade do paciente e carga de trabalho de enfermagem e, identificar os fatores de risco para UP em pacientes de Unidade de Terapia Intensiva (UTI). MÉTODOS: trata-se de estudo transversal realizado em três UTIs de um hospital, cuja coleta prospectiva incluiu dados clínicos e de internação de 74 pcientes e a aplicação dos índices Simplified Acute Phisiology (SAPS II), Nursing Activities Score (NAS) e Escala de Braden. RESULTADOS: dos 74 pacientes estudados 31 por cento apresentaram UP. As variáveis que se associaram a presença de UP foram: idade, tempo de internação, escores Braden e SAPSII. O NAS não se associou com ocorrência de UP. Escores SAPSII e NAS apresentaram correlação moderada com escores Braden e foram identificados como fatores de risco para UP. CONCLUSÃO: A ocorrência de UP associou-se à idade mais elevada, maior tempo de internação e gravidade do paciente. Identificaram-se como preditores de risco para UP a gravidade do paciente associada a carga de trabalho de enfermagem.

OBJECTIVES: to examine the association between pressure ulcer (PU) in critical care patients and their Braden scale score and the association between patient acuity and nursing workload, and to identify the risk factors for pressure ulcer among patients in critical care units (CCUs). METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with 74 patients in three CCUs at a major hospital. Data were collected prospectively using the simplified acute physiology score (SAPS II), the nursing activities score (NAS), and the Braden scale. RESULTS: Approximately a third of patients (31 percent) had a PU. Factors associated with PUs were age, days of hospital stay, the score on the Braden scale, and the score on the SAPS II. The score on the NAS was not associated with PUs. Scores on the SAPS II and NAS were moderately correlated with the score on the Braden scale. CONCLUSION: The development of PUs was associated with advanced age, longer hospital stay, and patient acuity. Patient acuity and nursing workload were predictors of UPs.

OBJETIVOS: Verificar la asociación entre la ocurrencia de la úlcera por decúbito (UD) en pacientes en estado crítico con escores de la escala de Braden, gravedad del paciente y carga de trabajo de enfermería e, identificar los factores de riesgo para UD en pacientes de la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos (UCI). MÉTODOS: se trata de un estudio transversal realizado en tres UCIs de un hospital, cuya recolección prospectiva incluyó datos clínicos y de internamiento de 74 pacientes así como la aplicación de los índices Simplified Acute Phisiology (SAPS II), Nursing Activities Score (NAS) y la Escala de Braden. RESULTADOS: de los 74 pacientes estudiados el 31 por ciento presentó UD. Las variables que se asociaron a la presencia de UD fueron: edad, tiempo de internamiento, escores Braden y SAPS II. El NAS no se asoció con la ocurrencia de UD. Los Escores SAPS II y NAS presentaron correlación moderada con escores Braden y fueron identificados como factores de riesgo para la UD. CONCLUSIÓN: La ocurrencia de la UD se asoció a la edad más elevada, mayor tiempo de internamiento y gravedad del paciente. Se identificaron como predictores de riesgo para la UD la gravedad del paciente asociada a la carga de trabajo de enfermería.