Malpractice or Obesity: Can a 276-Pound Patient Heal a Pressure Injury?

Obesity presents challenges to wound healing, but with knowledge and appropriate care interventions, we can provide optimal conditions to support the best possible outcome for every patient, no matter what size.

 

The US obesity epidemic reached a new all-time high in 2016, according to newly released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.1 Every single state has an obesity rate greater than 20%, and in five states it’s even greater than 35%. Topping the chart is West Virginia, at 37.7%.

 

Many of these people end up in the healthcare system because of obesity-related diseases and sometimes develop a wound, such as a pressure injury. As we know, wounds that do not heal after 12 weeks are termed chronic, and lawsuits because of chronic wounds and their consequences are rampant
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