SAN DIEGO — Although fluid intake can be safely increased in nursing home residents who have, or are at risk for, pressure ulcers and do not routinely ingest the prescribed amount of fluid, levels of subcutaneous oxygen may remain low, results from a multicenter study showed.
“In the nursing home population, hydration is a serious issue,” Nancy A. Stotts, R.N., Ed.D., said at the annual meeting of the Wound Healing Society.
Researchers recorded fluid intake for 5 days in 64 residents of five nursing homes in Northern California. The residents were then randomized to receive, for 5 days, the target amount of fluid prescribed by their physician or the target amount plus 10 mL/kg of body weight, said Dr. Stotts, professor of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco.
Subcutaneous oxygen levels were assessed for 3 days during treatment. The mean age of patients was 79 years. The mean baseline daily fluid intake was 1,374 cc for the group who received prescribed fluid, and 1,707 cc for those who received extra fluid. After treatment, the mean daily fluid intake increased significantly for both groups: to 1,787 cc for the group who received prescribed fluid, and to 2,380 cc for those who received the extra fluid.
The mean level of subcutaneous oxygen, however, was 40 mm Hg for patients in the target prescribed group, and 36 mm Hg for patients in the supplemental fluid group. Subcutaneous oxygen levels less than 45 mm Hg indicate tissue hypoxia, she said. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.