Investigation of the effects of olive oil in the prevention of pressure ulcers

Pressure ulcers continue to affect patients' quality of life, increase healthcare expenditure and the workload of nurses who are responsible for individual care of patients and cause loss of time despite the technological advances in medical world. Olive oil could be effective for prevention of pressure ulcers due to its properties as especially anti-oxidant, basal moisturizer and antimicrobial effect against various microorganisms. The study that was planned to evaluate effects of olive oil which is known to have many benefits for human health for prevention of pressure ulcers as a topical agent was conducted at intensive care units of Ege University Faculty of Medicine Research and Training Hospital Anesthesiology and Reanimation and Neurosurgery Clinics in between 19.02.2015-26.10.2015. 129 patients who were matching the criteria of inclusion to the study were chosen with layered randomization method according to gender constitute sampling of the study. The mean age of the study group was 61.48±17.49 years and the mean age of the control group was 58.56±19.22 years. T test was performed to evaluate the homogeneity of the groups and no significant difference was observed (p>0.05). The mean age of the patients that developed pressure ulcers were 68.56 ± 14.34 and the mean age of the patients that did not develop pressure ulcers were 57.22 ± 18.73 years. The difference between the pressure ulcer development according to mean ages were detected to be significantly different (p<0.05). No statistically significant difference between the groups according to age, gender, BMI, nutrition and hydration status, supporting surface type, observation day, chronic disease status, Braden risk score, medical diagnosis, hemoglobin and albumin levels was detected. Pressure ulcers developed in 16.9% of the study group and 32.8% of the patients in control group. Chi-square analysis was performed to evaluate the distribution of the patients according to the status of pressure ulcer development and the result was detected as the difference between olive oil and routine care groups was statistically significant. The mean Braden Risk Assessment Tool Score of the patients that developed pressure ulcers was 11.56±0.62, the mean hemoglobin level was 9.74 ± 1.58± mg/dl, the mean albumin level was 2.66 ± 0.38 mg/dl; the mean Braden Risk Assessment Tool Score of patients that did not develop pressure ulcers was 11.61±0.60, the mean hemoglobin level was 10.72 ± 1.99 ± mg/dl, the mean albumin level was 2.97 ± 0.55 mg/dl. Statistically significant difference was detected between the states of developing pressure ulcers according to hemoglobin values and albumin values of the patients. In conclusion of the study, olive oil as detected as effective for prevention of pressure ulcers, and is recommended as an economical alternative treatment option that could be administered safely to patients. Keywords: Pressure Ulcers, Olive Oil, Nursery