Effect of a Risk-Based Perioperative Pressure Injury Prevention Bundle in Elective Surgery Patients

Summary

This study evaluates whether a risk-based perioperative pressure injury prevention bundle reduces the development of pressure injuries in patients undergoing elective surgery lasting 3 hours or longer.

Pressure injuries that develop during and after surgery are a common patient safety problem, especially in older adults and in longer procedures. In this randomized controlled trial, patients will be assigned by chance to either an intervention group or a control group. In the intervention group, each patient's pressure injury risk will be assessed before surgery using the Braden Scale together with additional perioperative risk factors, and patients will then receive one of three prevention bundles matched to their risk level (low, moderate, or high). The high-risk bundle includes prophylactic silicone foam dressings on the sacrum and heels, targeted positioning, and pressure-redistributing support surfaces. The control group will receive standard perioperative care without risk-based bundling, although Braden Scale assessment will still be performed.

Skin assessments will be conducted at four time points: before surgery, in the post-anesthesia care unit, at 2-4 hours after surgery, and at 24 hours after surgery. The main outcome is whether patients develop early signs of pressure injury, including non-blanchable erythema, within the first 24 postoperative hours. The study hypothesizes that patients receiving the risk-based prevention bundle will have a lower incidence of postoperative pressure injury and non-blanchable erythema compared with patients receiving standard care.

Conditions

• Pressure Ulcer (PU)
• Pressure Injury Prevention
• Perioperative Care
• Braden Scale

Interventions

OTHER

Risk-Based Perioperative Pressure Injury Prevention Bundle

A three-tier prevention bundle (low, moderate, high risk), tailored to each patient's Braden Scale score combined with additional perioperative risk factors. The high-risk tier includes prophylactic silicone foam dressings applied to the sacrum and heels, targeted intraoperative positioning, and pressure-redistributing support surfaces; the moderate-risk tier includes targeted padding/off-loading and support-surface optimization; the low-risk tier includes routine positioning and standard support-surface use. Skin assessment is conducted at four perioperative time points.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Acibadem University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ayper Önal Alkan, RN, PhD, · Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University

• Ukke Karabacak, Professor · Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-08-01

Primary Completion

2026-12-12

Completion

2026-12-30

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations