1 Preventing Heel Ulcers in Hip Fracture Patients

Immobility is the primary cause of sacral and heel pressure ulcers occurring in hip fracture patients. In a nursing study conducted in a Northwest community hospital, the Heelift ® device was tested as an intervention to prevent heel ulcers in fractured hip patients. Twenty-two patients using Heelifts ® were compared to thirty patients who had not worn Heelifts®. Seventeen percent of the control patient group developed a Stage I or II heel ulcer during hospitalization, while none of the patients wearing Heelifts® developed heel ulcers. The incidence of heel pressure ulcers has been increasing. In six bi-yearly National Pressure Ulcer Prevalence surveys from 1989 to 2001, heels were found to be the only pressure ulcer site with an increasing prevalence rate (Ayello & Braden, 2001; Hil-Rom, 2001). In a study of postoperative heel ulcer prevention, Cheney (1993) reported heel breakdown could begin within one to two hours after surgery if pressure was not relieved. When unrelieved vertical heel pressure is sustained, heel pressure ulcers are likely to develop in susceptible patients. These ulcers complicate the recovery of hip fractur