Nursing care in the prevention of skin tears in the elderly: integrative review of the literature
Published 2023-07-15
Keywords
- Skin Tears,
- Prevention,
- Effectivity,
- Elderly,
- Health Care
- Nursing Care ...More
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2023 Ana Tavares, Luisa Olivença, Marisa Vilas Boas
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Introduction
Skin tears are considered injuries of traumatic etiology that can result from a variety of mechanical forces, such as shear or friction forces, blunt trauma, falls, improper handling, injury caused by equipment or removal of adherent dressings.
These are acute wounds that have a high probability of becoming complex chronic wounds. They cause pain, increase healthcare costs, reduce quality of life and are a source of stress for the person. They lengthen hospital stay and increase the risk of morbidities. Skin Tears are a growing problem, making it crucial to invest in this topic in order to promote their prevention and proper treatment.
Objective
To identify nursing care and strategies to prevent skin tears in the elderly.
Methods
A bibliographic survey of publications was carried out in the EBSCOhost search engine, which incorporates the CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE Complete and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews databases and in the PubMed database, carried out in June 2022. 26 records were returned, five meeting the inclusion criteria. The included studies (n=5) were carried out between 2012 and 2022.
Results
In the sample of articles, it was possible to identify the benefits of twice-daily application of topical products, moisturizing creams and emollients, and the relevance of oral administration for 8 weeks of an oral nutritional supplement in the hydration of the stratum corneum and in the elasticity of the skin, as well as the importance of primary prevention and the promotion of health education in elderly skin care.
Conclusion
Preventive care to avoid skin tears in the elderly focuses on the daily topical application of moisturizing creams and emollients, nutrition (administration of oral nutritional supplements with 10g of collagen peptides) and adequate hydration; to prevent cutaneous traumas by providing a safe environment with adequate devices, and through the promotion of health education.