Prevention of hospital-acquired transnasal tube-related pressure injuries: a quality improvement project.

Background: Nurses certified in wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) monitored an increasing incidence of hospital-acquired transnasal tube-related pressure injuries (TTPIs) in a tertiary hospital. Hospital-acquired pressure injuries are one of the most common preventable complications of hospitalization; however, the significance of TTPI prevention must be considered alongside the safety of tube fixation to prevent unplanned extubations (UEs), which are serious adverse events. Thus, exploring a quality improvement (QI) project to effectively reduce the risk of TTPIs while safeguarding tube safety is urgently needed.

Purpose: To decrease the incidence of TTPIs.

Methods: Inpatients from 2017 to 2018 were set as the control group, using routine precautions. Inpatients from 2019 to 2020 were set as the experimental group, and a bundle of training and clinical practice interventions was implemented to compare the incidence of TTPIs and UEs between the 2 groups.

Results: After improvement, the incidence of TTPIs reduced from 1.20% to 0.69%, the incidence of UEs reduced from 2.40% to 1.63%, and the differences were both statistically significant (P < .05).

Conclusion: The QI project reduced the incidence of TTPIs and UEs, thereby protecting the nasal skin/mucosal surfaces, safeguarding tube fixation, and ultimately improving the quality of clinical care.