The effects of prolonged pressure on skin blood flow in elderly patients at risk for pressure ulcers.

Although the physiological effects of pressure on tissue have been demonstrated in the animal model, little is known about its effect in ill, elderly patients who are at risk for pressure ulcers. This study describes the pattern of dermal blood flow during a period of constant, low-level, compressive pressure in this population of patients. Dermal blood flow was measured over the trochanter of 16 elderly (> 60 years) subjects who were defined as...