Intensive & critical care nursing : the official journal of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Feb 2017
Tissue interface pressure and skin integrity in critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients.
To describe tissue interface pressure, time spent above critical pressure levels and the effect on skin integrity at seven anatomical locations. ⋯ Maximum tissue interface pressure was above critical levels for the majority of the documented periods, especially in the sacrum, although few changes in skin integrity were documented. Time spent above critical levels for mean pressures were considerably less compared to maximum pressures. Maximum pressures may have reflected pressure spikes, but the large amount of time above the critical pressure levels remains substantial.