Skin Injuries and their Risk of Incidence among Neonates Hospitalized in Neonatal Intensive Care Units of Children and Al-Zahra Hospitals affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Year 2019-2020.

Abstract

Abstract Introduction & Objective: Maintaining the skin integrity of infants is one of the most basic aspects of nursing care that is currently not systematically reviewed and documented in neonatal intensive care units. According to the importance of skin health management, this study was performed to evaluate Skin injuries and their risk of incidence among neonates hospitalized in NICU. Materials and Methods: This research is a descriptive correlational study that was performed on 265 neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care units (NICU) of children's medical research and training centers and Al-Zahra Hospital in Tabriz in 2018. Data collection tools included the infant's demographic characteristics questionnaire and the table related to skin injury risk score, the types of skin injuries, their causes and their areas which is part of the Skin Risk Assessment and Management Tool (SRAMT) developed by Broom. Questionnaires of the study were completed by observing each infant at least two times and at most eight times during the study days. Data were analyzed using SPSS 24 software at a significance level of less than 0.05. Results: The results of the study showed that 72.1% of infants had at least one and at most fifteen cases of skin injuries. The most common skin injuries were bruises and hematoma with 49.4%, and the least common were chemical burns with 1.5%. The most affected area was upper limb with 41.83% and the least affected area was related to lower limbs with 37.89%. On average, neonates in the first and third days of hospitalization were in the high risk range of skin injury (risk score 19.89, 62/15%) and then until the twenty-eighth day the risk was in the medium range (risk score 14.89, 41/83%). The relationship between the mean risk score of skin injury and the total number of injuries in each infant with gestational age, birth weight and length of hospitalization and also the relationship between mean risk score of skin injury and types of skin injuries on different days of measurement was significant (p <0.05). Conclusion: According to the results of the study and the high incidence of skin injuries, there is a vital need to prevent them by using appropriate tools for predicting these injuries. In providing care for infants who are at the risk of skin injuries, their incidence can be reduced if there are supportive skin care policies, guidelines, and knowledge regarding daily care.