The effectiveness of pressure ulcer risk assessment instruments and associated intervention protocols remains uncertain

Commentary on: Chou R, Dana T, Bougatsos C, et al. Pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention: a systematic comparative effectiveness review. Ann Intern Med 2013;159:28–38.[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3][Web of Science][4] Pressure ulcers affect up to three million adults in the USA and are associated with deterioration in quality of life and overall prognosis, and substantial increases in resource utilisation and costs. Prevention is likely more effective and less costly than treatment of pressure ulcers once they have developed,1 ,2 so is a priority for health systems. The study set out to ascertain four things: (1) whether the use of risk assessment tools was effective in reducing the incidence or severity of pressure ulcers; (2) whether the effectiveness of these risk assessment tools varied according to setting of care or patient characteristics; (3) the effectiveness of a variety of preventive interventions in at-risk patients and (4) whether there is … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DAnn%2BIntern%2BMed%26rft.volume%253D159%26rft.spage%253D28%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.7326%252F0003-4819-159-1-201307020-00006%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F23817702%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.7326/0003-4819-159-1-201307020-00006&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=23817702&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febmed%2F19%2F3%2F93.atom [4]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=000321516200004&link_type=ISI