Flexi-Seal™ is proudly supporting this year’s Stop Pressure Ulcers Day, which takes place on the 16th November. The Stop Pressure Ulcers Day is co-ordinated by the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP) with the aim of increasing national awareness for pressure injury prevention and to educate the public on this topic.
Increasing awareness and understanding surrounding pressure ulcer prevention and management is the principle aim for Stop The Pressure Day, an aim that is recognised by Flexi-Seal™ to prevent this avoidable patient harm.
Up to 37% of patients admitted to the ICU experience fecal incontinence during their hospital stay. A serious threat to patients, fecal incontinence also poses a significant challenge to hospitals to tackle.1
Skin breakdown (pressure ulcers)
One of a number of complications associated with AFId is the risk of skin breakdown around the perineal and sacral area. Skin breakdown is categorised in terms of severity, ranging from superficial irritation to deeper tissue and muscle damage (such as pressure ulcers). Hospitalised patients with fecal incontinence are 22 times more likely to experience skin damage (pressure ulcers) than patients without fecal incontinence. One of the main risks for the development of ulcers in such patients is the persistent contact of moisture with the skin. When the skin is exposed to liquid for prolonged time periods, it becomes waterlogged, causing it to become soft and wrinkled, and increasing its friction coefficient. As a result, the protective barrier of the skin is breached, which leaves the patient prone to attack from pathogens, most notably those already present in the stool in contact with the skin.2
Our clinicians, engineers and designers collaborated with ICU nurses to develop the innovative Flexi-Seal™ PROTECT PLUS Fecal Management System. A value-added system that is designed to optimize protection and minimize risk in fecal waste management allowing nurses to spend time on other priorities. Flexi-Seal™ Fecal Management System is an indwelling fecal management catheter intended for use to manage fecal incontinence through the collection of liquid to semi-liquid stool and to provide access to administer medications. The device is intended for use in adult patients. The new Flexi-Seal™ PROTECT PLUS is designed with understanding to provide a safe, effective and dignifying solution to fecal management.
The aims of a fecal collector are as follows:- To safely divert fecal matter away from a patient’s skin
- To protect wounds from fecal contamination
- To reduce skin breakdown
- To reduce the spread of infection.
Learn more about Flexi-Seal™ PROTECT PLUS in this video or contact us.
- Bayón García, Cristina & Binks, Rachel & De Luca, Enrico & Dierkes, Christine & Franci, Andrea & Gallart, Elisabet & Niederalt, Georg & Wyncoll, Duncan. (2012). Prevalence, management and clinical challenges associated with acute faecal incontinence in the ICU and critical care settings: The FIRSTTM cross-sectional descriptive survey. Intensive & critical care nursing : the official journal of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses. 28. 242-50.
- García B, Binks R, De Luca E, Dierkes C, Franci A, Gallart E, Niederalt G, Wyncoll D, Vaes P, Soderquist B, Gibot S. Expert recommendations for managing acute fecal incontinence with diarrhea in the intensive care unit. J Intensive Care Soc. 2013;14(Suppl 2):1-9.