Urgent call for Quality Care Strategies Amid Rising Pressure Ulcers and Mortality Rates during COVID-19 Peaks

A recent cross-sectional investigation conducted across 3,283 acute care hospitals in 36 states has highlighted some alarming trends observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research findings revealed a significant increase in the cases of pressure ulcers and in-hospital mortality rates concerning nonsurgical care in 2020. It’s been noted that these spikes occurred primarily in the weeks characterized by a high volume of COVID-19 admissions as compared to low admission weeks. 

A closer look at the data shows at least a 20% rise in the rates of pressure ulcers, heart failure mortality, and hip fracture mortality during high admission periods. These escalating rates flag linkage between COVID-19 surges and a drop in hospital quality, setting off calls for the formulation and execution of quality care strategies during periods of peak hospital utilization. 

The relative changes are striking with a 24.3% increment in pressure ulcer rates, 21.1% in heart failure mortality as well as 29.4% in hip fracture mortality. Meanwhile, the weighted average for mortality concerning the selected indicators saw an increase of 10.6%. It’s crucial to note that compared to 2019, weeks in 2020 with low COVID-19 admissions witnessed a 32.4% reduction in pressure ulcer rates. 

As such, a significant gulf exists between the rates of pressure ulcers during high and low COVID-19 admission weeks, indicating a positive relation between the disease’s burden and this critical care complication indicator. The comprehensive analysis incorporated discharge data of over 19 million individuals hailing from the examined hospitals. 

The adverse increases in mortality rates in 2020’s high COVID-19 admission weeks underscore several potential contributing factors, including staff shortfalls, inadequately trained staff delegation, restrictive visitor guidelines limiting patient-family interaction, challenges in patient status monitoring, protective equipment scarcity, and compromised quality improvement methodologies. While the study does acknowledge certain limitations, for instance, correlation possibilities between unexpressed facets of patient severity and fluctuations in COVID-19 admissions, it clearly signals the pressing need for proactive measures. 

Hospitals must undertake initiatives like bridging staffing deficits, reinforcing safety protocols, integrating effective organizational strategies, and leveraging technology to fortify their resilience during high-demand scenarios akin to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: https://www.contagionlive.com/view/impact-of-covid-19-on-in-hospital-mortality-rates-across-3-000-hospitals