Enteral Nutrition in the Pressure Ulcers Prevention and Treatment

The article Enteral Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers in Adults Critical Care Patients by Jill Cox and Louisa Rasmussen provides detailed information of the importance of proper health and nutrition among patients suffering from pressure ulcers. Notably, the paper defines the condition as a localized damage to both internal and external tissues of the skin that develop as a result of pressure. The complication affects an average of 2.5 million individuals annually and increases the risk for other serious infections (Cox and Rasmussen 15). Considerably, the study has a table of six stages of the disease which are classified according to effects it has on infected individuals.

  The article is divided into several sections that help in understanding different concepts of handling pressure ulcers. Some of the subsections of the paper include malnutrition and nutritional screening, phases of wound healing, prevention and treatment, and the administration of the condition (Cox and Rasmussen 17).

Under malnutrition and nutritional screening, the section provides an overview of the role of proper nutrition to the growth of the body.  The subsection further classifies different types of malnutrition symptoms such as weight loss, general fluid accumulation, muscle mass loss, and subcutaneous fat reduction. Moreover, the fragment provides examples of nutritional screening tools and procedures that are useful in the treatment of these patients (Cox and Rasmussen 18). 

Inflammatory, proliferative and remodeling phases are some of the curing steps presented under the wound healing segment. Furthermore, the subsection elaborates on the symptoms of these therapeutic stages through a table that shows the duration and the key events of the procedure. The prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers section discuss methods that can be used to manage the condition through nutritional provisions provided by professional bodies such as the American Society Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) (Cox and Rasmussen 19). Considerably, pressure ulcers administration segment describes the nursing measures and techniques that are used to treat patients suffering from the illness (Cox and Rasmussen 23).

Work Cited

Cox, Jill, and Louisa Rasmussen. “Enteral nutrition in the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers in adult critical care patients.” Critical care nurse 34.6 (2014): 15-27.