Pressure Injuries Are Pervasive and Urgent Issues
The clinical, economic and humanistic burdens are significant. In the United States alone:
Patients die from pressure injuries every year1
is spent on hospital-acquired pressure injuries — 59% of which stem from Stage III and IV events1
of patients with pressure injuries experience pain stemming from these conditions2
What are Pressure Injury Risk Factors?5
Both environmental and patient pressure injury risk factors come into play:5
- Skin status
- Mobility limitations
- Perfusion, circulation or oxygenation factors
- Moisture
- Body temperature
- Nutrition limits
- Sensory perception limits
- Older age

How Can You Support Pressure Injury Prevention?
Surface selection is an integral component of pressure injury treatment and prevention strategies. Choosing the right surface for your patient that helps manage heat, moisture, pressure, shear and friction- the leading causes of pressure injuries.
But, not all surfaces are created equally. That’s why the NPIAP developed the S3i surface testing standards to help hospitals make better informed decisions when selecting the right surface for patients.
The right surface should help:

Reduce Moisture
Reducing skin hydration may reduce the risk of moisture-associated pressure injuries.6
Manage Pressure
Managing the pressure load over the contact areas of the body helps disburse pressure away from the bony prominences where pressure injuries often occur.
Minimize Migration
Minimizing migration in bed is critical to helping reduce shear, which can lead to hospital-acquired pressure injuries.
For Better Pressure Injury Prevention, Rethink Your Surfaces
We offer a portfolio of innovative technology to deliver superior pressure and moisture management for optimal healing and prevention – designed and validated using S3i testing standards.
Centrella Smart+ Bed
Designed to prevent many of the biggest patient deterioration challenges in med surg, including hospital-acquired pressure injuries
Envella Air Fluidized Therapy Bed
Delivers air fluidized therapy to help patients with complex wounds heal more quickly and comfortably
Hillrom™ Progressa Smart+ Bed
A suite of surface offerings featuring migration technology and in-bed therapies to help prevent and treat pressure injuries
Keep a Watchful Eye
Keep your patients on the path to recovery with the right intelligence. Along with pressure injury prevention, smart solutions for continuous patient monitoring and incontinence management can help you ensure you have the best solutions to help keep your patients safe.
References
- Padula WV, Pronovost PJ, Makic MBF, Wald HL, Moran D, Mishra MK, Meltzer DO. Value of hospital resources for effective pressure injury prevention: a cost-effectiveness analysis. BMJ Qual Saf. 2019 Feb;28(2):132-141.
- McGinnis E, Briggs M, Collinson M, et al. Pressure ulcer related pain in community populations: a prevalence survey. BMC Nurs. 2014 Jun 21;13:16.
- Adopted from European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel, and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance. Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers/Injuries: Clinical Practice Guideline. The International Guideline. Emily Haesler (Ed.). EPUAP/NPIAP/PPPIA: 2019.
- Lachenbruch C, Tzen YT, Brienza DM, Karg PE, Lachenbruch PA. The relative contributions of interface pressure, shear stress, and temperature on tissue ischemia: a cross-sectional pilot study. Ostomy Wound Manage. 2013 Mar;59(3):25-34.
- Lustig M, Wiggermann N, Gefen A. How patient migration in bed affects the sacral soft tissue loading and thereby the risk for a hospital-acquired pressure injury. Int Wound J. 2020 Jun;17(3):631-640.
- Byrne DW, Salzberg CA. Major risk factors for pressure ulcers in the spinal cord disabled: a literature review. Spinal Cord. 1996 May;34(5):255-63.
- Hess CT. Did you know? The difference between friction and shear. Adv Skin Wound Care. 2004;17(5):222.
- Martinez, B. P. et al. Influence of different degrees of head elevation on respiratory mechanics in mechanically ventilated patients. Rev Bras Ter Intensiva 27, 347–352 (2015).
- Spooner, A. J. et al. Head-of-Bed Elevation Improves End-Expiratory Lung Volumes in Mechanically Ventilated Subjects: A Prospective Observational Study. Respiratory Care. 2014:59;1583–1589.
- Hillrom Data on file.