Use of Thermal Imaging to Identify Deep-Tissue Pressure Injury on Admission Reduces Clinical and Financial Burdens of Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries.
Suzanne Koerner, Diane Adams, Scot L Harper and 2 others
PMID 31192867WHAT IT FOUND
Thermal imaging at ICU admission found 12 early temperature anomalies in 9 patients, mostly at heels.
After prevention care was started, only 2 anomalies progressed to visible deep-tissue injury, and no hospital-acquired pressure injury was recorded.
Key findings
01Thermal imaging at ICU admission found 12 temperature anomalies in 9 patients, and 9 of the 12 anomalies were at the heels.
02After a thermal anomaly was found, patients were started on four interventions: low air loss mattress, hourly turns, heel offloading, and castor oil and balsam peru three times daily; 2 of 12 anomalies progressed to visible DTPI.
03None of the 105 patients without baseline thermal anomalies developed visible DTPIs, and the hospital-acquired pressure injury rate during the study period was zero.
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 preliminary and compared the 2-month study period with historical rates, not with a concurrent control group. Thermal imaging was paired with a four-part intervention bundle, so the effect of imaging alone cannot be separated from the mattress, turning, heel offloading, and topical products. Scanning occurred only once, at ICU admission, so injuries developing later could have been missed. All three scans were not completed for 34 patients, usually because they could not be turned or repositioned. Financial and legal figures are estimates from external sources and institutional averages, not measured patient outcomes. The device maker trained users and supplied device cost figures, which may influence how the technology is presented.
Declared interests
The Scout device maker, WoundVision, trained users and provided annual costs of $61,000 for three devices and software. No other funding or conflict-of-interest declaration is stated in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that thermal imaging alone prevented deep-tissue pressure injuries. The anomalies triggered a four-part prevention bundle, and the zero hospital-acquired pressure injury rate came from a historical comparison and present-on-admission documentation, not a concurrent control group.