Pressure ulcers (PU), also known as decubitus sores, are areas of lesion localized to the skin and subcutaneous tissue. The development of decubitus ulcers occurs in institutional and community environments, and more frequently in assisted elderly, debilitated and motionless (e.g. orthopedic patients), in patients with severe acute disease (e.g. hospitalized in intensive care units) and in subjects with neurological deficits (e.g. spinal injuries).
Recognizing the considerable economic, health and social impact of pressure ulcers has led to considerable efforts to reduce their occurrence. Nevertheless, pressure ulcers continue to occur. Although not all pressure ulcers are iatrogenic, most of them can be prevented. Pressure ulcers are one of the most frequent iatrogenic lesions in developed countries.
Inadequate treatment methods, such as leaving vulnerable patients in potentially harmful positions for long periods, or massaging reddened skin areas, often continue to be perpetuated even if it has been proven that they are damaging or ineffective.
Pressure, that is often associated to a limitation in mobility of the patient, for a long time has been considered the most important extrinsic factor in the development of pressure ulcers.
However, recent research, and still ongoing, is revealing that shear forces, friction, and microclimate also play an important role in the etiology of pressure ulcers, and that, also, some significant and complex relationships between all these extrinsic factors exist.
In alert patients, the effects of prolonged pressure usually stimulate frequent light body movements to relieve the load and restore tissue perfusion. Unconscious, sedated, anesthetized or paralyzed patients cannot feel or respond to these stimuli and do not move spontaneously. As a result, skin and soft tissue can be exposed to prolonged and without relief pressure.
PUs are generally more common in anatomical locations that cover a bone prominence. In adults, the most common sites are the sacrum and the heel. Other frequently affected anatomical locations are ischium, ankle, elbow and hip.
Pressure ulcers are often difficult to diagnose, in particular it is easy to confuse them with moisture-caused injuries. A correct diagnosis is essential to determine both prevention and treatment plans.
For a proper management of pressure lesions it is essential to take into account their characteristics (location, color, size, amount of exudate, type of tissue, smell, edges) and to consider the condition of the peri-lesional skin (erythema, edema, hardening, maceration). To describe the state of a pressure ulcer, EPUAP (European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel) and NPUAP (National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel) recommend to divide pressure injuries stages from 1 to 4:
* Stage 1 - Persistent erythema Intact skin with redness not reversible to acupressure in a localized area, usually above a bone prominence. Stage 1 may indicate a patient at risk.
* Stage 2 - Partial thickness tissue loss Loss of the dermis at partial thickness, which looks like a shallow and open ulcer, with red - pinkish lesion bed, without slough. It may also present as a vesicle, intact or open/broken, serous and/or haematic.
* Stage 3 - Total Thickness Tissue Loss Loss of tissue at total thickness. Subcutaneous fat may be visible, but bones, tendons or muscles are not exposed. There may be slough, which does not hide the depth of tissue loss. It may include undermining wounds and tunneling.
* Stage 4 - Loss of subcutaneous tissue Loss of tissue at total thickness with exposure of bones, tendons or muscles. There may be slough or eschar on some parts of the lesion bed. Undermining wounds and tunneling are often present. Stage 4 injuries can extend to muscle and to support structures.
* Not classifiable lesion Loss of tissue at total thickness, where the base of the ulcer is covered by slough (yellow, brown, grey, green or brown) and/or eschar (brown, brown or black) in the bed of the lesion.
The commercial purpose of this study is to value the clinical efficacy of a battery-powered device that uses blue LEDs.
The study aims to compare the response of an existing standard treatment for second and third stage pressure sores, with a protocol that plans the administration of the EmoLED treatment three times a week for 4 consecutive weeks in addition to the conventional therapy.
The Study has an indicative duration of 12 months with an expected enrollment period of 10 months. The study, however, will continue until the number of patients required by this protocol is reached.
