Risk assessment scale for pressure ulcers in pediatric patients: French translation, internal consistency, convergent validity, feasibility, and clinical utility of the Braden QD Scale / Échelle d'évaluation des risques d'escarres en pédiatrie : traduction en langue française, cohérence interne, validité convergente, faisabilité et utilité clinique de l'échelle Braden QD

Introduction: Pediatric patients are particularly vulnerable to pressure ulcers. Structured evaluation with a risk assessment tool is recommended in order to identify patients at risk. The Braden QD Scale integrates the risks of both immobility-related and medical device-related pressure ulcers in pediatric patients. Objectives: To translate and pretest the Braden QD Scale into French (Swiss-French version), and to evaluate its consistency, convergent validity, feasibility, and clinical utility. Method: Over five prevalence surveys, the Braden QD Scale was used on all hospitalized pediatric patients. Convergent validity and internal consistency were tested. A self-administered questionnaire on feasibility and clinical utility was completed by nurses. Results: The translated version of the Braden QD Scale was pretested on 352 children. The prevalence surveys showed that 5.1% were at risk of developing pressure ulcers. Medical devices were present in 85.8% of cases. A Cronbach's alpha of 0.710 and a high convergent validity were measured. High scores of feasibility and clinical utility were found. Discussion and conclusion: This study suggests that the Swiss-French version of the Braden QD Scale is reliable, valid, feasible, and has clinical utility.

Introduction: La population pédiatrique est particulièrement vulnérable aux escarres. Afin d'identifier les patients à risques, une évaluation structurée est recommandée. L'utilisation de l'échelle Braden QD permet d'intégrer les risques liés à l'immobilité et à la présence de dispositifs médicaux. Objectifs: Réaliser une traduction en langue française (suisse francophone), un test de l'échelle Braden QD, évaluer sa cohérence interne, sa validité convergente, sa faisabilité et son utilité clinique. Méthode : lors de cinq enquêtes de prévalence, l'échelle Braden QD a été utilisée auprès de tous les enfants hospitalisés. Des tests psychométriques ont été mesurés. Un questionnaire de faisabilité et d'utilité clinique a été distribué aux enquêtrices. Résultats: L'échelle traduite a pu être testée auprès de 352 enfants. Les enquêtes ont montré que 5,1 % étaient à risques de développer une escarre et 85,8 % étaient porteurs de dispositifs médicaux. Un alpha de Cronbach à 0,710, avec une validité convergente élevée, de hauts scores de faisabilité et d'utilité clinique ont été retrouvés auprès des infirmières. Discussion et conclusion: Cette étude suggère que la version suisse francophone de la Braden QD est faisable, fiable et valide. Les infirmières ont estimé qu'elle était facile à utiliser et utile pour leur pratique.

Effects of a pressure-ulcer audit and feedback regional programme at 1 and 2 years in nursing homes: A prospective longitudinal study.

INTRODUCTION: Pressure ulcer is a frequent complication in patients hospitalized in nursing homes and has a serious impact on quality of life and overall health. Moreover, ulcer treatment is highly expensive. Several studies have shown that pressure ulcer prevention is cost-effective. Audit and feedback programmes can help improve professional practices in pressure ulcer prevention and thus reduce their occurrence. The aim of this study was to analyze, with a prospective longitudinal study, the effectiveness of an audit and feedback programme at 1- and 2-year follow-up for reducing pressure ulcer prevalence and enhancing adherence to preventive practices in nursing homes. METHODS: Pressure ulcer point prevalence and preventive practices were measured in 2015, 2016 and 2017 in nursing homes of the Canton of Geneva (Switzerland). Oral and written feedback was provided 2 months after every survey to nursing home reference nurses. RESULTS: A total of 27 nursing homes participated in the programme in 2015 and 2016 (4607 patients) and 15 continued in 2017 (1357 patients). Patients were mostly females, with mean age > 86 years and median length of stay about 2 years. The programme significantly improved two preventive measures: patient repositioning and anti-decubitus bed or mattress. It also reduced acquired pressure ulcers prevalence in nursing homes that participated during all 3 years (from 4.5% in 2015 to 2.9% in 2017, p 0.035), especially in those with more patients with pressure ulcers. CONCLUSION: Audit and feedback is relatively easy to implement at the regional level in nursing homes and can enhance adherence to preventive measures and reduce pressure ulcers prevalence in the homes.

Variation in pressure ulcer prevalence and prevention in nursing homes: A multicenter study.

AIM: To estimate the prevalence of pressure ulcers in nursing homes and its variability, the frequency of use of preventive measures and treatment. BACKGROUND: Pressure ulcer is a frequent pathology across healthcare settings. Most pressure ulcers are preventable and are considered an important quality of care indicator. METHODS: Assessments were done on a single day of November 2015 in nursing homes in Geneva, Switzerland. Of the 51 institutions (3824 patients) eligible, 33 homes agreed to participate, representing 2671 patients (69.8%). One referent nurse per nursing home received training on pressure ulcer detection. To estimate the residual variability in prevalence and in number of prevention measures, adjusted multilevel logistic regressions were used. RESULTS: Patients were on average 85.6 years old, with a median length of stay of 2.1 years. The overall prevalence was 5.7% but varied considerably, from 0% to 19.6%. The variability across nursing homes decreased slightly when taking into account patient-level and institution-level characteristics. In the adjusted models, pressure ulcers prevalence was significantly associated with Braden risk; number of preventive measures was significantly associated with nursing home size, and Braden risk, and marginally associated with length of stay. CONCLUSIONS: Overall prevalence of pressure ulcers was relatively low. While several prevention measures for patients at risk were taken, the correct use of all of them was rare. The variability in prevalence and in number of preventive measures across nursing homes was very high. Programmes focusing on the correct use of all recommended prevention measures could help reducing pressure ulcers prevalence.

Is the Surgical Safety Checklist successfully conducted? An observational study of social interactions in the operating rooms of a tertiary hospital.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the items on the Time Out and the Sign Out of the Surgical Safety Checklist are properly checked by operating room (OR) staff and to explore whether the number of checked items is influenced by the severity of the intervention and the use of the checklist as a memory tool during the Time Out and the Sign Out periods. METHODS: From March to July 2010, data were collected during elective surgery at the Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland. The main outcome was to assess whether each item of the Time Out and the Sign Out checklists have been checked, that is, 'confirmed' by at least one member of the team and 'validated' by at least one other member of the team. The secondary outcome was the number of validated items during the Time Out and the Sign Out. RESULTS: Time Outs (N=80) and Sign Outs (N=81) were conducted quasi systematically (99%). Items were mostly confirmed during the Time Out (range 100-72%) but less often during the Sign Out (range 86-19%). Validation of the items was far from optimal: only 13% of Time Outs and 3% of Sign Outs were properly checked (all items validated). During the Time Out, the validation process was significantly improved among the highest risk interventions (29% validation vs 15% among interventions at lower risk). During the Sign Out, a similar effect was observed (19% and 8%, respectively). A small but significant benefit was observed when using a printed checklist as a memory tool during the Sign Out, the proportion of interventions with almost all validated items being higher compared with those without the memory tool (20% and 0%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Training on the proper completion of the checklist must be provided to OR teams. The severity of the interventions influenced the number of items properly checked.

[Urinary incontinence: knowledge, mental representations and nursing practice. A survey in Geneva's University Hospital]. / Incontinence urinaire: connaissances, représentations et pratiques des soignants. Enquête aux Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève.

INTRODUCTION: This article presents the results of a survey led by senior nurses at Geneva's University Hospital in 2007, in acute and long-term care. AIM: The aim was to identify obstacles and nursing resources available for patients with urinary incontinence (UI) in order to improve their care. METHOD; A questionnaire was sent to 3300 health care professionals: doctors, nurses, midwives and auxiliary nurses, with a response rate of 55%. RESULTS: Health care professionals have incomplete knowledge about UI however their mental representations of UI are not an obstacle to care. In their practice they use few assessment tools and specialized health care professional are rarely consulted. CONCLUSION: Current measures for improvement aim to make resources in UI more visible, develop practice guidelines and offer specific training.

[Nursing notes: what do they contribute to the quality of medical records?]. / Les notes infirmières: quelle contribution à la qualité du dossier de soins?

Treatment records are preferential tools in nursing care. Depending on the setting, its development has gained greater importance during the last thirty years. In the environment of an organization in charge of the computerization of patient files, an evaluation was conducted on the contents of the anamneses and daily observations of nurses. This study, concerning 110 medical records demonstrated the different facets in the methods of transcribing data from notes ensuing from observations, action, and evaluation. Alternatively, the impact of this procedure translates into concrete propositions by the medical teams, as well as exploring the benefits of charting the treatment records themselves.

Screening for pressure ulcer risk in an acute care hospital: development of a brief bedside scale.

To derive a brief bedside pressure ulcer prediction tool for patients admitted to acute care hospitals, we conducted a prospective study of first pressure ulcer incidence among 1,190 consecutive patients hospitalized in selected wards of a Swiss teaching hospital. Baseline predictors included patient age and items from the Norton and Braden ulcer prediction scales. During follow-up, 170 patients developed new pressure ulcers. The predictive ability of baseline assessments decayed over time. Occurrence of first pressure ulcer in the 5 days after admission (129 events) was best predicted by patient age (5 levels), mobility (3 levels), mental status (3 levels), and friction/shear (3 levels). The Fragmment score (sum of friction, age, mobility, mental status) was linearly related to pressure ulcer risk, and its area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.80) was higher than for the Norton (0.74; P = 0.006) and Braden (0.74; P = 0.004) scores. This brief pressure ulcer prediction scale performed well in an acute care setting. Use of this scale may facilitate the implementation of pressure ulcer prevention interventions.