We spent this past weekend in Las Vegas at the NPUAP 12th Biennial Conference. The NDF had been invited to make a poster presentation. Over 500 medical professionals were in attendance, and a large proportion of those visited our poster and learned about the NDF Prevention Protocol. About 70 attendees picked up a copy of our 2008 study, published in Advances in Skin & Wound Care, that laid the basis for the protocol. The NDF presentation will be posted on the website, www.decubitus.org, shortly.
One presentation from the stage provided some very encouraging news. The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators, sponsored by the American Nursing Association, for the first time showed a meaningful reduction in hospital-acquired pressure ulcer (HAPU) incidence. Whereas the incidence for 2004 and 2006-207 held steady at 6.4%, 2010 showed a drop to 3.8% (2.7% excluding Stage 1 ulcers). The slides from this lecture and all of the other lectures can be viewed at http://npuap.org/conferences.htm.
We spoke with the bed manufacturers that displayed at the conference, and verified that many hospitals are investing in pressure reduction support surfaces for prevention purposes, thereby saving large amounts in rental costs. Other presentations, including one by Dr. Barbara Braden, indicated that on the order of 90% of hospitals are now assessing risk using the Braden Scale within the first 24 hours. Therefore we feel certain that the very welcome reduction in HAPU is due to the fact that some hospitals have adopted the NDF Prevention Protocol whether they realize it or not.
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