The effect of the use of heel protection on the prevention of heel pressure wounds and plantar flexion contractures in intensive care units

This study was conducted in a randomized controlled manner to evaluate the effectiveness of heel protector applied in the prevention of heel pressure injuries and plantar flexion contractures in patients hospitalized in intensive care units. The sample of the study consisted of 84 patients who were treated in two intensive care units of a training and research hospital between January 2022 and December 2022, who met the inclusion criteria of the study and accepted to participate in the study. Heel protector boots were applied for 14 days and joint range of motion was measured every other day. Joint range of motion values are a measure of plantar flexion contracture formation. In order to collect data; socio-demographic data, Ramsey Sedation Scale, Braden Pressure Injurie Risk Assessment Scale, Heel Skin Assessment System According toNational Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and European Pressure Ulcer Advisory PanelStaging System were used and goniometric measurement was performed to evaluate joint range of motion. It was observed that the joint range of motion of the patients in the heel shield applied group decreased significantly compared to the control group and approached the normal values, it was determined that the heel protector statistically prevented heel pressure injurie. Although the use of heel protectors did not cause heel pressure injuries, it was observed that it provided significant improvement in patients who developed plantar flexion contracture. Heel protector; In intensive care units, it can be easily applied to prevent these two pathological conditions and can be recommended as an application that can increase the quality of nursing care. Keywords: Pressure Injurie, Plantar Flexion Contracture, Heel Protector