Do we need a consensus conference on heel pressure injuries?
Massimo Rivolo
Università degli Studi di Torino, UK
: J Regen Med
Abstract
Introduction: Heel pressure Injuries (PIs) are the second most common site for pressure ulceration. Their prevalence varies widely depending on the characteristics of the examined population, ranging from 7.3% to 18.2% in the adult setting.2 Overall, heel PIs account for up to a third of all documented PIs. Heel pressure injuries are so common, and despite imposing such high risks, and being so costly, heel pressure injuries are understudied in the pressure ulcer literature. Methods: The Italian Nurses’ association for wound care, called AISLeC is organizing the first International Consensus Conference on how to assess and treat heel pressure Injuries. For this aim 6 areas have been created plus another one for the background questions. The six domains are: vascular assessment, local treatment I and II stage, local treatment III and IV stage plus SDTI and Depth Unknown, offloading devices, referral criteria and the usage of biophysical agents. Results: As a part of the Consensus Conference we created a National/International survey to collect data about assessment and management of heel pressure injuries. The questionnaire has been filled in by 600 clinicians in a 4-week period, between February and March 2018 in Italy and by approximately 100 clinicians (nurses and others) mainly in UK. A huge discrepancy has been noticed between some clinical recommendations and the guidelines issued by EPUAP from the surveys we received. Conclusions: Preliminary clinical questions have been created along with the survey results. The Consensus Conference ceremony celebration will be held in November 2018 in Italy to reach where possible some degree of consensus on evidence-based recommendations.
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