title: Pressure area care in infants and children: Nimbus Paediatric System.
abstract: Survival rates in both critically and chronically ill infants and children have improved dramatically in recent years and new challenges exist in the nursing care given to these patients. Among these is the increased risk of pressure ulcer development. Children in intensive care environments are especially at risk. Prevention and management of pressure ulceration in the paediatric population requires clinical judgement and skill. The use of pressure ulcer risk assessment tools can assist in this process; however, to date, there is a lack of research evidence and further studies are needed. The pressure relief requirements of the paediatric patient are significantly different to those of the adult patient. In children under the age of 36 months, the ears and occiput are the areas most at risk of pressure injury as a result of the fact that this area is proportionately the largest and heaviest bony prominence. Despite the abundance of specialist pressure redistributing devices for adults, there is little available specifically for the paediatric patient. This article describes a review of the literature on these subject areas and follows with a short report of the evaluation of the new Paediatric Nimbus System undertaken at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Surgery, Yorkhill NHS Trust, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tweed
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marron
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D001513:Beds / Q000592:standards*; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D009737:Nursing Records; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis