Condition
Pressure ulcers
Background
Pressure ulcers are lesions of the skin and underlying soft tissues caused by prolonged and/or elevated exposure to compressive and shearing forces. Worldwide, the prevalence of pressure ulcers ranges from 0.3 % to 46%, with highest prevalence in advanced age. PUs can cause symptoms including pain, exudate and odour, and compromise all areas of patient functioning, which consequently reduce quality of life. As pressure ulcers are considered to be largely preventable, their occurrence is widely used as a quality indicator/patient safety parameter. An important outcome of pressure ulcer prevention trials is the measurement of the pressure ulcer occurrence. However, substantial cross-trial variance and within-trial risk of bias have been noted with regard to this outcome measure. Many other outcomes are also reported in prevention trials, such as: pathophysiological changes, including tissue oxygenation and skin barrier changes; patient-reported outcomes including comfort, pain and quality of life; and health resource/economic outcomes. However, there are no agreed standards for which outcomes are of most importance and which measurement instruments, or methods should be favored.
Scope of the intended COS
- Study types: Intervention trials such as RCTs
- Global scope, adults 18+ years
Methods
Systematic reviews, service user interviews, Delphi studies, face-to-face meetings
Involvement of stakeholders
Researchers, service users, industry representatives, researchers, clinicians
Current status
The long list of outcomes domains is currently being prepared.
Funding
University of Leeds (UK), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP)
Involved Countries
UK, Germany, Belgium, Australia, United States, Ireland and worldwide during Delphi process
Date of updates
- 26/08/2019
Lead
- Dr. Jane Nixon
- Dr. Jan Kottner
Project team members
- Anna Lechner
- Dr. Susanne Coleman
- Delia Muir
- Prof. Dr. Katrin Balzer
Responsible member of Methods group (as assigned by CS-COUSIN)
- Prof. Jamie Kirkham
Contact
- J.E.Nixon@leeds.ac.uk
Published references
1. Lechner A, Kottner J, Coleman S, Muir D, Bagley H, Beeckman D, Chaboyer W, Cuddigan J, Moore Z, Rutherford C, Schmitt J, Nixon J, Balzer K. Outcomes for Pressure Ulcer Trials (OUTPUTs): protocol for the development of a core domain set for trials evaluating the clinical efficacy or effectiveness of pressure ulcer prevention interventions. Trials. 2019;20(1):449.