WCEI - Blog » Pressure Ulcer Etiology http://blog.wcei.net Wound Care Education Institute Blog Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:57:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Pressure Ulcer Etiology http://blog.wcei.net/pressure-ulcer-etiology/ http://blog.wcei.net/pressure-ulcer-etiology/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:00:00 +0000 Drew Griffin http://blog.wcei.net/?p=587 WCEI Instructor Cindy Broadus RN reviews Pressure Ulcer Etiology with the WCC candidates in a recent class in Philadelphia PA. Below is a little video from a Skin and Wound Management Course in which Pressure Ulcer Etiology is discussed. Cindy demonstrates how if the skin and soft tissue is compressed or squeezed together by weight or tension, the blood vessels collapse and tissue necrosis follows.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Additionally, the Clinical presentation and characteristics of Pressure Ulcers are discussed in part in this video. Some of the characteristics include:

  • Rounded, crater-like shapes (not always round)
  • regular edges
  • usually develop over a bony prominence (not always over a bone)
  • will take on the shape of the object that caused the pressure

Typical anatomical locations that pressure ulcers are found include: (Top 5)

  • Sacral/Coccyx
  • Greater Trochanter
  • Ischial Tuberosity
  • Heel
  • Lateral Malleolus

The progression of Breakdown is as follows:

  1. Hyperemia
  2. Tissue Ischemia
  3. Tissue Necrosis
  4. Ulceration

For more information on becoming wound care certified or our Skin and Wound Management Course, check out our registration page

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