Manage Abstracts

Pressure injuries (PI) are a type of wound that commonly affect residents in long term care (LTC). Without proper care, a PI can greatly impact a resident’s quality of life. Currently, there is no data on the state of interdisciplinary care (RD, OT and PT) being provided to residents living with a PI within Northern Health (NH) LTC facilities.

To determine the current prevalence of PIs among residents living in Stuart Nechako Manor (SNM) and whether interdisciplinary care is being provided to residents diagnosed with a PI.

A retrospective chart review was conducted for residents living in SNM in 2017. Data collected from all residents included age, gender, presence of a PIs and whether they had any of the high-risk comorbidities associated with PIs, which are diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, hypotension and sepsis. The timeline of interdisciplinary care, such as days between diagnosis and referral, referral and consult and diagnosis and consult, was collected for affected residents. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Of the 45 residents who met inclusion criteria, 6% (n=3) had a PI. Of all residents included, 67% (n=30) had no high-risk comorbidities, 29% (n=13) had one, and 4% (n=2) had two or more high-risk comorbidities. The most common high-risk comorbidity was diabetes mellitus (24%). 1 affected resident was consulted by an OT with regards to their PI with 264 days passing between diagnosis and consult.

The findings of this study show that interdisciplinary care in PI management at SNM is suboptimal. The lack of referrals and coordinated documentation of PI care highlights either a lack of knowledge among the team or the need for enhanced collaboration between disciplines.

RDs collaborate with OTs and PTs to minimize the risk for PI development and enhance wound healing through proper nutrition, equipment and mobilization plans.