Store your positioning equipment so it's easily accessible and organ-
ized. This ensures you always have the proper roller or pad for the
procedure. Nurses at Virtua Health in Voorhees, N.J., created a "posi-
tioning cart" that they keep in each sub-sterile room for easy access to
positioning aides.
3. Keep 'em dry
Moisture also increases the likelihood of pressure injuries. You should
monitor fluids to make sure they aren't pooling near the patient and
identify other sources of moisture. For instance, the use of prophylac-
tic dressings can increase the humidity and temperature of a patient's
skin according to AORN's Guideline for Positioning the Patient. So
you should be aware of any moisture trapped between the dressing
and the skin.
4. Maintain normothermia
Studies have shown that the lower a patient's body temperature, the
higher the chances she will develop a pressure injury. A 2016 study
published in the AORN Journal found that the average temperature of
patients that developed pressure injuries was 95.7°F. In another study,
for every 1°F that a patient's temperature dropped, their risk for pres-
sure injury increased by 20%. Yet another reason to actively warm
your patients.
5. Monitor length of surgery
Pressure ulcers can develop during surgeries of any length, but the
length of surgery is a significant risk factor for pressure ulcers. The
longer a patient is in the OR the more likely she is to develop a pres-
sure injury. And it's not just OR time. A patient who undergoes a 90-
minute procedure could be immobile for considerably longer when
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