Background: Pressure ulcers affect as many as 3 million Americans and are major sources of morbidity, mortality, and health care costs.
Purpose: To summarize evidence comparing the effectiveness and safety of treatment strategies for adults with pressure ulcers.
Data sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and Health Technology Assessment Database for English- or foreign-language studies; reference lists; gray literature; and individual product packets from manufacturers (January 1985 to October 2012).
Study selection: Randomized trials and comparative observational studies of treatments for pressure ulcers in adults and noncomparative intervention series (n > 50) for surgical interventions and evaluation of harms.
Data extraction: Data were extracted and evaluated for accuracy of the extraction, quality of included studies, and strength of evidence.
Data synthesis: 174 studies met inclusion criteria and 92 evaluated complete wound healing. In comparison with standard care, placebo, or sham interventions, moderate-strength evidence showed that air-fluidized beds (5 studies [n = 908]; high consistency), protein-containing nutritional supplements (12 studies [n = 562]; high consistency), radiant heat dressings (4 studies [n = 160]; moderate consistency), and electrical stimulation (9 studies [n = 397]; moderate consistency) improved healing of pressure ulcers. Low-strength evidence showed that alternating-pressure surfaces, hydrocolloid dressings, platelet-derived growth factor, and light therapy improved healing of pressure ulcers. The evidence about harms was limited.
Limitation: Applicability of results is limited by study quality, heterogeneity in methods and outcomes, and inadequate duration to assess complete wound healing.
Conclusion: Moderate-strength evidence shows that healing of pressure ulcers in adults is improved with the use of air-fluidized beds, protein supplementation, radiant heat dressings, and electrical stimulation.