TY - JOUR
T1 - Protecting prone positioned patients from facial pressure ulcers using prophylactic dressings
T2 - A timely biomechanical analysis in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Peko, Lea
AU - Barakat-Johnson, Michelle
AU - Gefen, Amit
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - Prone positioning is used for surgical access and recently in exponentially growing numbers of coronavirus disease 2019 patients who are ventilated prone. To reduce their facial pressure ulcer risk, prophylactic dressings can be used; however, the biomechanical efficacy of this intervention has not been studied yet. We, therefore, evaluated facial soft tissue exposures to sustained mechanical loads in a prone position, with versus without multi-layered silicone foam dressings applied as tissue protectors at the forehead and chin. We used an anatomically realistic validated finite element model of an adult male head to determine the contribution of the dressings to the alleviation of the sustained tissue loads. The application of the dressings considerably relieved the tissue exposures to loading. Specifically, with respect to the forehead, the application of a dressing resulted in 52% and 71% reductions in soft tissue exposures to effective stresses and strain energy densities, respectively. Likewise, a chin dressing lowered the soft tissue exposures to stresses and strain energy densities by 78% and 92%, respectively. While the surgical context is clear and there is a solid, relevant need for biomechanical information regarding prophylaxis for the prone positions, the projected consequences of the coronavirus pandemic make the present work more relevant than ever before.
AB - Prone positioning is used for surgical access and recently in exponentially growing numbers of coronavirus disease 2019 patients who are ventilated prone. To reduce their facial pressure ulcer risk, prophylactic dressings can be used; however, the biomechanical efficacy of this intervention has not been studied yet. We, therefore, evaluated facial soft tissue exposures to sustained mechanical loads in a prone position, with versus without multi-layered silicone foam dressings applied as tissue protectors at the forehead and chin. We used an anatomically realistic validated finite element model of an adult male head to determine the contribution of the dressings to the alleviation of the sustained tissue loads. The application of the dressings considerably relieved the tissue exposures to loading. Specifically, with respect to the forehead, the application of a dressing resulted in 52% and 71% reductions in soft tissue exposures to effective stresses and strain energy densities, respectively. Likewise, a chin dressing lowered the soft tissue exposures to stresses and strain energy densities by 78% and 92%, respectively. While the surgical context is clear and there is a solid, relevant need for biomechanical information regarding prophylaxis for the prone positions, the projected consequences of the coronavirus pandemic make the present work more relevant than ever before.
KW - COVID-19
KW - finite element modelling
KW - pressure injury
KW - prone position
KW - silicone foam multi-layered prophylactic dressings
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087385403&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/iwj.13435
DO - 10.1111/iwj.13435
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C2 - 32618418
AN - SCOPUS:85087385403
SN - 1742-4801
VL - 17
SP - 1595
EP - 1606
JO - International Wound Journal
JF - International Wound Journal
IS - 6
ER -