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Patient Clinical Background:
A 58 year old married lady was admitted for neuro- rehabilitation. She had acute confusional state following a fall at home and was diagnosed to have acute subdural haematoma with ventricular enlargement.
She has severe cognitive communication difficulties affecting both expressive and receptive language. She is disorientated to person, place, time and situation.
She also has a few behavioural issues identified:
- Psychomotor agitation in the form of moving up and down her bed on her hands and knees and spinning on her coccyx.
- Verbal agitation if she is not responded to immediately
- Low level physical aggression in the form of grabbing staff if her questions are not responded to immediately.
Status of Skin Damage:
She developed superficial abrasions on her hands, knees and buttocks as a result of behavioural issue no. 1 mentioned above. The dressings applied to the affected areas kept on rucking and dressings had to be changed frequently. These contributed to her being more agitated due to the pain and discomfort.
Intervention with Parafricta® low friction fitted Bed sheet:
The low friction Parafricta® fitted bed sheet was trialled for two weeks used by this patient in place of the usual bed sheet. This is to establish if this bed sheet is of clinical benefit to the patients and to find a suitable product for patients whose delicate skin needs protection against friction and shear.
Outcome:
Using the low friction fitted bed sheet prevented further skin irritation and breakdown as a result of friction and shearing for this patient. It also prevented unnecessary dressing change allowing the affected areas to heal quickly and improve the quality of life of this patient.
C.Q., Senior Practice Development Specialist, Putney, London
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