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| A pressure ulcer is any lesion of the skin caused by unrelieved pressure resulting in damage to underlying tissue. Pressure ulcers usually occur over bony prominences such as the heel, coccyx, or trochanter which are in contact with a surface, such as a bed, wheelchair, shoe, or cast. When pressure is not relieved, tissue ischaemia develops and a pressure ulcer results. Most pressure ulcers are preventable. Therefore, early risk assessment, skin care, attention to patient support surfaces, and education are essential. |
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| Standard practice is to assess and stage pressure ulcers using a scale from I-IV that is based upon depth of the wound, with IV representing the most serious degree of injury. Once staged, the healing wound is not restaged. Therefore, a healing Stage III pressure ulcer does not become a Stage II. It remains, according to the original diagnosis, a Stage III pressure ulcer which is healing. The depth of the wound is only one of many factors which needs to be evaluated. |
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