Introduction:

Immobilization with plaster cast in lower limb is a frequent procedure for children in the emergency services, which is not without risks related to immobility and pressure, on these factors nurses have to adopt preventive care.

Objective:

To verify the efficacy of the polymeric heel patch in the prevention of iatrogenic ulcers in children immobilized with a plaster splint in the lower limb.

Material and method:

Preventive randomized clinical trial on pediatric patients aged 0 to 14 years who require immobilization with a lower limb cast cast. Simple blind non-probabilistic consecutive sampling was performed. Descriptive statistical analysis of the variables and X2 test with the application variables of the patch and the appearance of ulcers.

Results:

A total sample of n = 74 patients was obtained. Ulcer was observed in 21.7% of patients, whole skin (48.2%) and erythema that pales 30.1%. The X2 test was applied for the application of polymer patch and ulcer appearance variables, obtaining X2 = 0.135 with p = 0.713, and therefore, there is no statistical significance between these two variables.

Conclusions:

There is no direct relationship between the prevention of pressure ulcers in children immobilized with plaster splint and the application of polymeric protective patch. It is very important that nurses offer a quality health education in the care and maintenance of the splint to avoid complications.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in English | Spanish     · English ( pdf ) | Spanish ( pdf )