An Investigation of Pressure Ulcer Risk, Comfort, and Pain in Medical Imaging.

INTRODUCTION: Pressure ulcers present significant trauma to patients and are expensive to manage. In medical imaging (MI), no study has been conducted to rigorously investigate interface pressure (IP) risk on MI table surfaces. IP is defined as the pressure between human body and a supporting surface. The aims of this research were to investigate whether IP risks exist on MI table surfaces and to assess pain and comfort when lying on MI table surfaces. METHODS: A calibrated XSENSOR mat was used to measure IP for three jeopardy areas (head, sacrum, and heels) in healthy volunteers on an x-ray table surface with no mattress, an x-ray table surface with a thin radiolucent mattress, and a computed tomography table surface, after which they completed a pain and comfort questionnaire. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 26 females and 23 males aged 18-59 years (mean = 34.6; standard deviation [SD] = 10.5). Analysis of variance identified statistically significant differences in the mean IP for the jeopardy areas across the three MI table surfaces (P ≤ .001). Results also indicated high mean IP value for the head (75.9 mmHg; SD = 6.9) on the x-ray table with no mattress. Seventy percent of the volunteers found lying on the x-ray table with no mattress to be very uncomfortable. Sixty-seven percent experienced most pain whilst lying on the x-ray table with no mattress and over 81% of the pain occurred at the head. CONCLUSION: IP risk exists on x-ray tables with no mattress. This could increase the risk of developing pressure ulcers in patients accessing prolonged radiography/radiology procedures.

Prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors among students of a tertiary institution in Ghana.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are listed as one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity by the World Health Organization. The World Heart Federation lists overweight/obesity, blood lipid profile, and blood pressure as some of the modifiable risk factors to developing CVDs. This study sought to determine the prevalence of some of these modifiable risk factors among University of Ghana students. One hundred and twenty students were sampled for the study. Lipid profile parameters such as high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol (TC), and total triglycerides (TG) were measured using the Vitros 5-IFS chemistry analyzer (NY, USA). The Friedewald's equation was used to determine low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels. Anthropometric indices such as height and weight were measured following standard protocols. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated in kg/m2 using the height and weight measurements. The students were then categorized into underweight, normal, overweight, and obese according to their BMI. Blood pressure measurements were also taken. The mean age of the students was 30.04 ± 7.99 years. A total of 4.2%, 30%, and 67.5% had TG, TC, and LDL, respectively, above normal recommended ranges. Low HDL levels were observed in 32.5% of the students. About 45% had high systolic blood pressure and 32.5% with high diastolic blood pressure. In all, the risk factors studied contributed to about 95% of the variance in explaining the risk of developing CVDs. The study concludes that the cardiovascular risk factors assessed are prevalent among the students and therefore steps must be taken to address the increase in prevalence.