Pressure sores are defined as localized areas of degenerated skin and underlying soft tissues due to prolonged, mechanical loads (ANPUAP, 1989). The medical term for this disorber is decubitus. The sores occur when patients are subjected to mechanical loads, for example when bedridden or sitting in a wheelchair and are both mentally and physically very oppressive for patients. The total costs for prevention and treatment of decubitus are estimated between 150 million pounds per year in the United Kingdom (Young, 1992) and more than 3 billion dollars per year in the United States (White, 1989).
展开▼
