Prevention of pressure injury in the operating room: Heels operating room pressure injury trial

The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of multi‐layered silicone foam (intervention) compared with transparent polyurethane film (control) in preventing heel pressure injuries caused by surgical positioning of individuals undergoing elective surgery. It was designed an intra‐patient, open, parallel, randomised controlled trial was conducted in a university hospital in southern Brazil, from March 2019 to February 2020, with patients undergoing elective surgeries of cardiac and gastrointestinal specialties. The patients who met the selection criteria constituted, simultaneously, a single group receiving the intervention and active control, through paired analysis of the cutaneous sites (right heel and left heel). The outcome was the occurrence of PI, within the follow‐up period was 72 hours. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials: RBR‐5GKNG5. There was analysis of 135 patients/270 heels, with an overall incidence of 36.7%. The pressure injury incidence was significantly lower in the intervention group (26.7%), compared with the control group (P = .001); relative risk of 0.57. In the intervention group, the estimated pressure injury‐free time (survival) was 57.5 hours and in the control group, 43.9 hours. It was concluded that Multi‐layered silicone foam (intervention) is more efficacious than transparent polyurethane film (control) in the prevention of pressure injuries caused by surgical positioning of individuals undergoing elective surgery.