Therapeutic Support Surfaces for Pressure Ulcer Prevention

Pressure ulcers can greatly affect a patients' quality of life. In this news, fifteen percent of acute-care patients develop pressure ulcers. It may result in longer hospital stays, greater likelihood of a readmission within 30 days of discharge, and higher rates of patient discharge from hospitals into institutional or long-term care facilities.

Pressure ulcers have their origin in deep tissue explains why the practice followed by most hospitals of providing a therapeutic support surface only after the appearance pressure ulcers has so often met with failure. Proper nursing care along with the use of therapeutic support surfaces or alternating pressure air mattresses (APAM) as parts of early intervention can reduce the pressure ulcer incidence.