Pressure injuries remain a significant concern across the healthcare continuum , causing pain and costing millions . Which is why prevention is so essential . Among many tools that help prevent skin breakdown are prophylactic foam dressings — and that makes sense . The National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel guidelines recommend a “ soft silicone multi-layered foam dressing to protect the skin for individuals at risk of pressure injuries .”

However , looking under those dressings to assess the skin comes with challenges . That ’ s why some caregivers might not check under dressings at every shift . “ They might think , as long as the dressing is on there , no problems are going to happen ,” says Holly Baglio , DNP , RN-BC , MSN , CWOCN , BS , Inpatient Wound Ostomy Continence RN , UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital . But problems do happen . At Baglio ’ s facility , when frequent lift-and-checks were missed , rates of stage 3 , stage 4 and unstageable pressure injuries began to rise . They tried not using a sacral dressing at all , but that led to other skin damage .

What if there were a product that still helped with PI prevention , but would allow nurses to check skin without even lifting the dressing ? Now there is .

Dynamics of a new dressing A first in the wound dressing industry , OptiView™ Transparent Dressing with HydroCore™ Technology is designed to be part of a pressure injury prevention

reduction in peak pressure

Breaking news

OptiView is now approved for partial and full thickness wounds , with low drainage . “ We are actually seeing healing opportunities with this dressing ,” says Holly Baglio , DNP , RN-BC , MSN , CWOCN , BS , Inpatient Wound Ostomy Continence RN , UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital .

protocol to reduce pressure and help maintain skin integrity , and here ’ s the kicker : A unique clear center allows caregivers to inspect , monitor and blanch the skin — all while keeping the dressing in place .

“ What intrigued me most with OptiView was the fact that you can see through the dressing and visualize the wound without having to lift the edges ,” notes Joan Hofmann , MSN , RN Nurse Manager Wound Care , Halifax Health , Daytona Beach , Florida . “ While foam products can be lifted and reapplied , we find that they often don ’ t re-adhere as well , and the edges roll . You don ’ t have to do that with OptiView . You can look through and see the wound ,” she continues .

Even when OptiView requires repositioning on the wound , it re-sticks better . “ It ’ s still able to adhere to the skin without rolling back and needing to replace it ,” Baglio notes .

“ It ’ s great for the nurses , because when they turn the patient to look at , say , a sacrum , where maybe they have redness or deep tissue injury , they ’ re able to see through the dressing as well as check it for blanching ,” says Halifax Health ’ s Christine Sanford , RN , BSN , CWCN . “ So it makes it easier on both the patient and the nurse .”

Fewer lift-and-checks also helps the patients because it lowers the risk of medical adhesive-related skin injury . “ We

Birth of a Better Dressing

“ It ’ s really a simple innovation , right ? And sometimes those are the best ones ,” says Anthony Frei , Medline Director of Product Development , who points to facility partners as the inspiration . “ We do a lot of listening to clinicians , and we care about improving their practice as well as improving patient outcomes ,” he explains .

When it comes to prophylactic dressings , there are many effective multi-layer foam dressings available , and they serve an important role , but they weren ’ t originally designed for preventing PIs . “ They were designed for treating wounds ,” Frei says , and they eventually were repurposed to redistribute pressure , manage shear and microclimate . “ The thought behind OptiView was , what if you created a product purposefully engineered for prevention ,” Frei explains .

The developers considered comments from the field and clinical need . They wanted to consider everything that comes into play with the patient and clinician workflow , then take a look at what they could do from a design standpoint to improve outcomes on both sides . The clear window , gel center and pressureredistribution properties fulfilled that .

18 Healthy Skin