Nurse's role in the prevention and care of skin tears

Uvod: Kronične rane veliki su ekonomski teret za zdravstveni sustav, njihovo liječenje je dugotrajno te često ostavlja psihološke posljedice na bolesnicima i njihovim obiteljima. Rane nastale silama trenja, smicanja i tupim traumama, skin tears, su akutne rane koje se često javljaju na koži starijih osoba ili nedonoščadi, a ukoliko se na vrijeme ne prepoznaju i ne liječe mogu postati kroničnim problemom koji zahtijeva dugotrajno liječenje. Postupci: Prilikom prikupljanja podataka koristile su se sljedeće baze podataka: PubMed, NCBI, EBSCO i Hrčak te članci Google Scholara u posljednjih petnaest godina. Prikaz teme: Zadaće medicinske sestre/tehničari pri prevenciji i zbrinjavanju narušenog integriteta kože vrlo su složene i kompleksne. Medicinske sestre koje zbrinjavaju oštećenja kože moraju biti educirane te moraju pratiti najnovija otkrića u medicini iz područja zbrinjavanja akutnih i kroničnih rana. Kronične rane ostavljaju trajne posljedice na životima bolesnika, ali i na životima njihovih obitelji. Medicinske sestre/tehničari moraju pružiti dostatnu psihološku potporu bolesnicima te ih dostatno educirati o njihovoj bolesti, ali i o načinima na koji mogu spriječiti pojavljivanje kožnih oštećenja u budućnosti. Zaključak: Kronične rane oštećenja su kože čije potpuno zacjeljivanje traje dulje od tri mjeseca. Praćenjem najnovijih dostignuća medicine medicinska sestra/tehničar mogu procijeniti svaku ranu bilo akutnu ili kroničnu te osmisliti plan zdravstvene njege za bolesnika. Pružanjem psihološke potpore medicinska sestra/tehničar može znatno utjecati na smanjivanje stresa i psiholoških posljedica koje kronične bolesti ostavljaju na bolesnika i zajednicu.Introduction: Chronic wounds are a great economic burden for the healthcare system. Their long-term treatment often leaves psychological trauma on patients and their families. Skin tears, wounds caused by friction, shear and blunt trauma, are acute wounds that often occur on the skin of the elderly or neonates which, if not recognized and treated in time, can become a chronic problem that requires long-term treatment. Procedure: The following databases were used for collecting data: PubMed, NCBI, EBSCO, and Hrčak, as well as Google Scholar articles from the past fifteen years. Overview: The tasks of nurses in preventing and caring for impaired skin integrity are very complex. Nurses who care for patients with impaired skin integrity must be educated and must follow the latest discoveries in medicine in the field of acute and chronic wound care. Chronic wounds leave lasting consequences on the lives of patients as well as their families. Nurses must provide sufficient psychological support to patients and educate them sufficiently about their disease, but also about the ways in which they can prevent the occurrence of skin damage in the future. Conclusion: Chronic wounds are skin lesions whose complete healing lasts longer than three months. By following the latest advances in medicine nurses can assess each wound, whether acute or chronic, and devise a health care plan for the patient. By providing psychological support, a nurses can make a significant impact in reducing the stress and psychological consequences that chronic illnesses have on the patient and the community