Experts have expressed concerns that pressure injuries, also known as bedsores, have risen with the spike in hospitalizations during the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, according to a new report in USA Today, “hospitals are putting extra focus” on preventing bedsores, which more than 2.5 million people suffer from each year, according to a the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel estimate, and which kill more than 60,000 people annually.
Pressure injuries involve “localized damage to the skin or underlying soft tissue,” the report states. They often occur over “a bony area or from a medical device,” when the area experiences either “intense” or sustained pressure, or both. A pressure injury may simply involve a light abrasion of the skin, or an open wound. Continue reading