Comparison Study of Braden Scale and Time-to-Erythema Measures in Long-term Care.

PURPOSE: The Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Sore Risk is used to assess risk, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid guidelines suggest the use of a tissue tolerance procedure that detects time-to-erythema (TTE) to further refine tissue tolerance, a component of the Braden Scale. The aim of this study was to compare the Braden Scale and TTE as risk classification methods and their utility in identifying care planning interventions. DESIGN: Descriptive study using retrospective chart review. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Participants were a convenience sample of 89 adults 65 years or older residing in a long-term care facility in the Midwestern United States. The sample was drawn from a facility-generated list of 90 residents who had both Braden Scale and tissue tolerance testing performed within 24 hours of admission from any setting, readmission after a hospital stay, or performed as part of a routine annual reassessment. METHODS: Results of staff performance on the Braden Scale and TTE were compared as risk classification methods and based on their utility for identifying care planning interventions. Data were collected during 1 session when TTE and the Braden Scale were completed. Agreement between the 5 risk categories from the Braden Scale and 5 TTE risk categories was analyzed via the kappa statistic and Kendall tau-c statistic. Spearman or Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated as appropriate for ordinal and continuous risk, intervention, and severity measures. RESULTS: The mean Braden Scale score was 17.5 ± 3 (mean ± SD); the mean TTE-Bed was 2.35 ± 0.57 hours and the mean TTE-Chair was 2.18 ± 0.52. Using a Braden Scale score of 18 or less as a cut point for identifying clinically relevant risk for pressure ulcer development, 55 participants were deemed at risk, 62 had mobility subscale scores less than 4, 76 had activity subscale scores less than 4, and 73 were incontinent. The weighted kappa statistic demonstrated weak agreement between TTE-Bed and the Braden Scale Total Score (κ = 0.04; 95% CI: 0.002-0.07). Agreement was not significant for TTE-Chair and the Braden Scale Total Score (κ = 0.01; 95% CI: -0.01 to 0.04), TTE-Bed and Braden Scale-Mobility (κ = 0.09; 95% CI: -0.05 to 0.23) and between TTE-Chair and Braden Scale-Activity (κ = 0.07; 95% CI: -0.05 to 0.19). The TTE-Chair and TTE-Bed assessment demonstrated fair agreement (κ = 0.37; 95% CI: 0.19-0.55). The Braden Scale cumulative score where a lower score equates to higher risk was found to be correlated with the total number of interventions observed in the care plan (r = -0.62; P < .0001). Correlation between the Braden Scale-Mobility subscale score and in-bed mobility specific interventions was r = -0.64 (P < .0001), whereas correlation for TTE-Bed category and specific in-bed mobility interventions was r = 0.21 (P = .05). CONCLUSION: Study findings provide little support for tissue tolerance testing versus assessment using the validated Braden Scale for assessment of pressure ulcer risk. Study findings support the use of the Braden Scale to develop an individualized care plan based on the areas of risk.

Construct validity of the moisture subscale of the Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Sore Risk.

In this study, the construct validity of the moisture subscale of the Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Sore Risk is partially supported by the significant inverse relationships between moisture subscale scores, the number of wet observations and soiled observations, brief changes, and differences among the moisture subscale score groups.

Practices and outcomes: pressure ulcer management in nursing facilities.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to compare reported pressure ulcer prevention and treatment practices in nursing facilities with high prevalence of pressure ulcers versus nursing facilities with low prevalence of pressure ulcers. METHODS: A 26-item survey on implementation of nationally accepted standards for pressure ulcer prevention and treatment was mailed to directors of nursing in all 68 nursing facilities in an urban county. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences on reported pressure ulcer prevention interventions based on pressure ulcer prevalence. When treating pressure ulcers, respondents of facilities with high prevalence of pressure ulcers reported more frequent pain assessments, more frequent use of low air-loss beds, and daily wound assessments. DISCUSSION: The study failed to support the hypothesis that nursing facilities with low prevalence of pressure ulcers report using more guideline-recommended pressure ulcer prevention and treatment interventions than facilities with high prevalence of pressure ulcers. Reported adherence to recommended interventions for repositioning and pressure relief measures, moisture management, and attention to nutrition exceeded 60% in all facilities. CONCLUSION: The disparity between reported interventions and pressure ulcer prevalence rates offers an opportunity for future collaborative quality improvement projects, research, and the need for leadership to develop systems of care to ensure the use of pressure ulcer prevention guidelines.

Nursing delegation and medication administration in assisted living.

Assisted living (AL) residences are residential long-term care settings that provide housing, 24-hour oversight, personal care services, health-related services, or a combination of these on an as-needed basis. Most residents require some assistance with activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, such as medication management. A resident plan of care (ie, service agreement) is developed to address the health and psychosocial needs of the resident. The amount and type of care provided, and the individual who provides that care, vary on the basis of state regulations and what services are provided within the facility. Some states require that an RN hold a leadership position to oversee medication management and other aspects of care within the facility. A licensed practical nurse/licensed vocational nurse can supervise the day-to-day direct care within the facility. The majority of direct care in AL settings is provided by direct care workers (DCWs), including certified nursing assistants or unlicensed providers. The scope of practice of a DCW varies by state and the legal structure within that state. In some states, the DCW is exempt from the nurse practice act, and in some states, the DCW may practice within a specific scope such as being a medication aide. In most states, however, the DCW scope of practice is conscribed, in part, by the delegation of responsibilities (such as medication administration) by a supervising RN. The issue of RN delegation has become the subject of ongoing discussion for AL residents, facilities, and regulators and for the nursing profession. The purpose of this article is to review delegation in AL and to provide recommendations for future practice and research in this area.

Contribution of skin temperature regularity to the risk of developing pressure ulcers in nursing facility residents.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to determine whether characterizing skin temperature regulation as a functional property of the skin as it relates to tissue tolerance improves the clinician's understanding of pressure ulcer risk prediction. DESIGN: A 2-group time-series design was used to observe skin temperature regularity (entropy) and self-similarity (spectral exponent). METHODS: Twenty nursing facility residents wore skin temperature monitors continuously for 5 days. One bathing episode was observed because bathing is a commonly occurring care procedure. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Difference in skin temperature multiscale entropy and spectral exponent by risk category and pressure ulcer outcome. RESULTS: Multiscale entropy (MSE) for skin temperature was lowest in those who developed pressure ulcers, F1,18 = 35.14, P < .001. Skin temperature mean MSE, F1,17 = 5.55, P = .031 and the skin temperature spectral exponent, F1,17 = 6.19, P = .023 differentiated the risk groups. The change in skin temperature entropy during bathing was significant, t(16) = 2.55, P = .021. CONCLUSIONS: Skin temperature MSE and the spectral exponent were significantly different between low-risk and higher risk residents and residents who did and did not develop pressure ulcers. The study supports measurement of skin temperature regulation as a component of tissue tolerance to pressure.

Pressure ulcer risk detection from complexity of activity.

Activity levels in nursing home residents were measured with accelerometers over one week as part of a multicenter randomized controlled trial, and complexity of the resulting activity patterns were characterized. Among 813 study participants on whom activity data had been collected, 16 participants developed pressure ulcers by the end of the study. The fractal dimension D0 of the activity series was lower (p=0.039) in residents who developed pressure ulcers than in controls matched on the basis of race, randomization group, score on the Braden scale, and diagnoses of cardiovascular disease and dementia. Hurst exponents indicated that the scaling of the power spectrum was close to 1/f in pressure ulcer cases. At timescales exceeding 30 minutes, approximate entropy tended to be higher in the controls than in the pressure ulcer cases. The fractal structure of the activity time series and its information content offer the ability to predict higher risk of development of pressure ulcers in nursing home residents.

Opportunities for advance practice nurses in the nursing facility.

Advance practice nurses (APNs) have emerged as valuable members of the nursing facility interdisciplinary team. They function in a variety of roles, including clinical care, administration, nursing consultation, and education. Positive outcomes in key indicators of care and reduction in costs to the healthcare systems have been attributed to their practice. Barriers to implementation of the role include regulatory issues, facility resistance, and difficulty adapting to the environment. Facilitation of the role is enhanced by collegial relationships and role negotiation. There is strength in the APN-physician collaborative model. The APN is likely to concentrate on prevention, restoration, maintenance, and palliative care, allowing the physician to concentrate on complex medical problems. There is a need for APN practices to identify APN-sensitive outcomes, collect and analyze data, and disseminate findings.

Turning for Ulcer ReductioN: a multisite randomized clinical trial in nursing homes.

OBJECTIVES: To determine optimal repositioning frequency of nursing home (NH) residents at risk for pressure ulcers (PrUs) when cared for on high-density foam mattresses. DESIGN: Multisite, randomized, clinical trial, known as Turning for Ulcer ReductioN (TURN Study). SETTINGS: NHs in the United States (n = 20) and Canada (n = 7) using high-density foam mattresses. PARTICIPANTS: Consenting residents (N = 942) aged 65 and older without PrUs at moderate (scores 13-14) or high (scores 10-12) risk of PrUs according to the Braden Scale. INTERVENTION: Participants were randomly allocated using risk stratification (moderate vs high) to a repositioning schedule (2, 3, or 4 hour) for 3 weeks. Blinded assessors assessed skin weekly. MEASUREMENTS: PrU incidence (coccyx or sacrum, trochanter, heels). RESULTS: Participants were mostly female (77.6%) and Caucasian (80.5%) and had a mean age of 85.1 ± 7.7. The most common diagnoses were cardiovascular (76.9%) and dementia (72.5%). Nineteen (2.0%) participants developed superficial PrUs. There was no significant difference (Wilcoxon test for ordered categories) in PrU incidence (P = .68) according to repositioning group (2 hour, 8/321, 2.5%; 3 hour, 2/326, 0.6%; 4 hour, 9/295, 3.1%), nor was there a statistically significant difference in the incidence of PrU between the high and moderate-risk groups (P = .79). Also, PrU incidence was not statistically significantly different between high-risk participants based on repositioning schedule (6/325, 1.8%, P = .90) or between moderate-risk participants based on repositioning schedule (13/617, 2.1%, P = .68). CONCLUSION: There was no difference in PrU incidence over 3 weeks of observation between those turned at 2-, 3-, or 4-hour intervals in this population of residents using high-density foam mattresses at moderate and high risk of developing PrUs when they were repositioned consistently and skin was monitored. This finding has major implications for use of nursing staff and cost of NH care.

Gabor filter for enhanced recognition of assisted turning events.

Nursing facility residents at high risk for pressure ulcers are turned in bed by staff at regular intervals. In an ongoing large, multi-site randomized clinical trial (RCT) the impacts of 2, 3, and 4 hour turning intervals are being studied on pressure ulcer outcomes. In the RCT, it is necessary to objectively confirm the reported times of assisted turning by certified nurse assistants using activity data. Activity peaks in Gaussian-smoothed activity data were unable to confirm all turning events in a supporting pilot study with observer notes of assisted turns. A new technique is presented using one-dimensional Gabor filters that enhances activity peaks due to turning events and diminishes the signal during extended activity. As a result, all assisted turns in the pilot study were detected and confirmed. Moreover, the dependence of detection sensitivity on decision threshold is lowered in this method.