Skin and soft-tissue infections in long-term care
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Pennsylvania patient safety advisory
- Contributor(s):
- Pennsylvania. Patient Safety Authority. ECRI (Organization) Institute for Safe Medication Practices.
- Publication:
- [Harrisburg, Pa.] : Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, c2011
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Health Services for the Aged Long-Term Care Skin Care Skin Diseases, Infectious -- prevention & control Skin Diseases, Infectious -- therapy Soft Tissue Infections -- prevention & control Soft Tissue Infections -- therapy Staphylococcal Skin Infections -- prevention & control Staphylococcal Skin Infections -- therapy Streptococcal Infections -- prevention & control Streptococcal Infections -- therapy Aged Cellulitis -- prevention & control Cellulitis -- therapy Evidence-Based Medicine Nursing Homes Pressure Ulcer -- prevention & control Pressure Ulcer -- therapy Risk Assessment Humans United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) occur frequently in the elderly as skin integrity becomes more compromised with advancing age. SSTIs are the third most common infection in nursing home residents nationally, with a prevalence rate that varies between 1% and 9%. Cellulitis and decubitus ulcer infection are two of the most common types of SSTI in this national population. During a 12-month period, July 2009 through June 2010, Pennsylvania nursing homes reported a total of 5,881 SSTI events, or a rate of 0.26 per 1,000 resident days. Consistent with national data findings, these reports reflect that cellulitis and decubitus ulcer infections were the most predominant among the specific etiologies. This article focuses on evidence-based practices for maintaining overall skin integrity as well as strategies for pressure ulcer prevention. Barriers that impede skin integrity maintenance are also addressed.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101555866 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101555866