Fortunately, easy-to-use tools can
help you determine a patient's level
of susceptibility before surgery. I
developed the AORN-endorsed
Scott Triggers
(osmag.net/Qou5QQ), a concur-
rent trigger tool that identifies at-
risk individuals for perioperative
pressure injuries. It evaluates 5 fac-
tors — age, serum albumin level, BMI, ASA score and estimated sur-
gery time — to determine the patient's level of risk.
Other pre-op risk assessment tools include the Braden Scale for
Predicting Pressure Sore Risk (osmag.net/KAenF3) and the Munro
Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Scale for Perioperative Patients
(osmag.net/GTGaa3). Whichever tool you use, instruct your team to
transfer it to the OR staff during handoff and to the post-op staff after
surgery.
While these tools can help staff determine how likely a patient is to
develop a pressure injury, every patient, no matter how healthy, is in
fact at risk.
Underweight or thinner patients have a higher risk of injury to bony
prominences. Other considerations include a patient's current physical
state, nutritional status, and comorbidities like vascular disease, dia-
betes, immobility, advanced age and severe illness.
Skin assessment
Is your team engaged when they perform a skin assessment, or do
they simply ask a patient if her skin is intact? They need to visual-
ize the pressure points and bony prominences, and document
what they see. They should report any redness, blanchable or not,
M A Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 4 5
Helpful Resources
From AORN
• "Back to Basics: Preventing
Perioperative Pressure Injuries"
osmag.net/FyNyJ5
• "Prevention of Perioperative
Pressure Injury" toolkit
osmag.net/6SgpQE
