White Paper: Keeping Patients Under the Damage Threshold for Pressure Injury

Keeping Patients Under the Damage Threshold for Pressure Injury - Addressing Microclimate Through Allostasis

Laurel Tanner, MA; Laurie Rappl, DPM, CWS; Craig Oberg, PhD; Evan Call, MS, CSM-NRM

ABSTRACT

Background: Pressure injuries (PI) are an ongoing problem in health care. Current interventions, both from clinicians and support surface technologies, do not sufficiently address PI prevention.

Problem: Patient microclimate is a contributing risk factor for PI, one which can be more adequately addressed. However, the acceptable range for microclimate is unknown, in part because the body adapts to changing conditions.

Approach: Two key concepts in allostasis are finite resources and responding to intrinsic and extrinsic demands. These concepts have not previously been applied to PI treatment or interventions. Addressing microclimate, when coupled with an increasing awareness of the cumulative effect of individual patient risk factors, can help resolve the risk of PI by lowering the cumulative inputs to keep patients under the threshold for tissue damage.

Conclusion: This new approach, which places microclimate risk into the broader conceptual framework of allostasis, can produce more effective products and interventions to prevent PI.