A simplified version of the Braden Q Scale can reliably predict the risk of immobility-related and medical device-related pressure injuries, according to a study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
Previous assessments of the Braden Q Scale's efficacy only involved immobility-related pressure injuries among critically ill pediatric patients. For the new study, researchers enrolled 625 patients across eight medical centers under the age of 21 who were assigned to bed rest for at least 24 hours and treated with a medical device. Fourteen patients experienced a total of 22 immobility injuries, and 42 patients experienced 64 medical device-related pressure injuries. The risk assessment tool proved reliable in predicting both types of injuries.
"The Braden QD Scale provides acute care pediatric clinicians with one instrument to predict both immobility- and device-related pressure injuries across diverse age and clinical populations," said Martha Curley, PhD, RN, lead study author and the Ruth M. Colket Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing at Penn Nursing and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "This instrument may be helpful in preventing iatrogenic injury, in facilitating quality monitoring of care, and in helping to guide resource allocation in the prevention of [hospital-acquired pressure injury] in hospitalized infants and children."
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