Repositioning. Many bedsore prevention
protocols recommend moving an
immobile patient every two hours. The
thinking is that if the patient can’t shift
position, then the nursing staff should
do it for him or her. The few clinical
trials that have examined repositioning
don’t provide clear guidance on
how often it should be done. Even so,
Dr. Reddy believes that repositioning
is probably one of the most effective
means of pressure ulcer prevention:
“We just need to find out which positions,
and how oft en, is most effective.”
Nutrition. Some experts believe increasing
a patient’s protein intake is
the key to healing bedsores. Five nutrition
studies were included in Dr.
Reddy’s analysis. Only one found a
nutritional supplement to be benefi -
cial, but it was also the largest and bestdesigned
study.