Risk for surgical positioning injuries: scale validation in a rehabilitation hospital.
Francisca Caroline Lopes do Nascimento, Maria Cristina Soares Rodrigues
PMID 32401901WHAT IT FOUND
A surgical positioning injury risk scale classified 58 patients as high risk using estimated surgery time and 57 using real positioning time, and scores were associated with skin injury and positioning-related pain after surgery.
Key findings
01ELPO 1 classified 58 patients as high risk and ELPO 2 classified 57 patients as high risk.
02ELPO 1 and ELPO 2 scores were associated with appearance of skin lesion and presence of pain from surgical positioning.
03The mean ELPO 1 and ELPO 2 scores did not differ.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done in one quaternary rehabilitation hospital with more nurses and more positioning resources than many Brazilian hospitals, so the results may not transfer to lower-resourced services. The sample was a convenience sample of adult elective surgical patients, and it excluded emergency surgery and patients having a second surgery during data collection. The study showed an association between ELPO scores and injury or pain. It did not test whether using ELPO changes positioning practice or reduces injuries. Outcomes were checked only up to four postoperative days or until an injury appeared, so later complications were not assessed. Scale items may need review for different support surfaces and surgical techniques.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that ELPO prevents surgical positioning injuries. It validated the scale in one rehabilitation hospital and showed that scores were associated with skin injury and pain, not that acting on the scores improved outcomes.