FIRST (PILOT) VALIDATION OF THE UNIFIED DATASET FOR PRESSURE ULCERS MONITORING.

Background: The monitoring of the skin lesions in clinical practice varies significantly. For the necessity of unified pressure ulcers monitoring, the care process, and the treatment of pressure ulcers (hereinafter named PU), a specially prepared and pilot-tested dataset was compiled. The aim of the research is to analyse the completeness and availability of data according to the created dataset in the individual centres (faculty hospitals) involved in the research. There were observed items evaluating incidence and prevention measures of pressure ulcers in hospitalized patients. The main and final purpose is to create a national registry for pressure ulcers monitoring in hospitalized patients and to prepare national strategies for PU prevention and treatment. Methods: Within the unified dataset pilot-testing (3 months) for pressure ulcers monitoring which took place in three faculty hospitals, there were collected and evaluated standard data on the occurrence of PUs and assessed the effectiveness of preventive strategies in patients with risk of decubitus formation. Firstly, a standard data structure for pressure ulcers monitoring and strategies of preventive measures was designed. Then, a separate software solution for data collection was created in the application software "TrialDb IBA LF MU". The analysis of pre-pilot data collection and its complexity was influenced by the use of different data recording methods in particular faculty hospitals (internal information systems, manual data processing). Despite the fact that we have been preparing special monitoring system, it was used only in one monitored centre (one faculty hospital). IN other two hospital data were collected in their own hospital information systems. The main declared reason for this was the efforts to reduce the workload of nurses (nurses had the possibility to record data once in the official patient records and data were extracted for analyses). Data from all workplaces have been merged and the analysis of the completeness and consistency of the main parts of the record, including the analysis of duplicate records, has been carried out. Results: Records of 172 patients with 265 pressure ulcers out of a total of 310 patients with 503 monitored entries were analysed from three faculty hospitals. The analysis of the documentation results in the insufficient records in the patient basic data, both in anamnestic data (patient history) and in its own documentation of non-healing wounds with special focused on overall patient status and local wound description and - size, local complications, therapy and other parameters. Conclusions: Pilot study verified that the standardised data structure is compiled from data which can be obtained in routine clinical practice. After validation of the analysis results and identification of the causes of data shortage, it will be possible to set appropriate corrective measures so that the next phases of the data collection is feasible. It is essential to educate healthcare professionals in direct care in identifying the type of tissue damage, the degree of damage and pressure ulcers localization upon patient's admission, during his hospitalization, when discharged from the hospital and to promote usage of appropriate preventive strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]