Prophylactic dressings are becoming an important part of pressure injury prevention strategies in clinical care.

In this episode of The Pressure Effect from Smith+Nephew, host Dr. Lee Ruotsi is joined by Alicia Smith, PT, DPT, NCS, CWS, CLSSGB, Director of Wound Care at Grady Health System, to discuss the clinical impact of these dressings and how they are used in real-world settings.

Alicia shares current evidence supporting prophylactic dressing use and explains how these approaches are implemented across different patient populations. She also covers key considerations such as patient selection, anatomical placement, and how these dressings fit into broader prevention bundles. Alicia also addresses practical concerns such as medical adhesive-related skin injury (MARSI), wear time, and adhesive performance, offering guidance clinicians can apply in daily practice.

If you’re looking to improve how you prevent pressure injuries in your setting, this episode shares practical insights you can actually use.

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In this episode, Dr. Lee Ruotsi speaks with Dr. Amit Gefen, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Tel Aviv University and a leading expert in tissue mechanobiology, about how prophylactic dressings help prevent pressure injuries.

Dr. Gefen explains how pressure, shear, and friction act on soft tissue, and why these forces work together to cause damage beneath the skin. He also describes what happens at the cellular level when tissue is exposed to sustained load, and how injury can develop even when the surface still looks intact.

The discussion covers how dressings help reduce shear, especially over areas like the sacrum and heels. Dr. Gefen outlines how multilayer designs absorb movement and limit the amount of force that reaches the tissue. He also touches on heat, moisture, and how microclimate affects skin condition and friction. The episode highlights why clinicians should look for product-specific evidence when choosing dressings, as performance can vary across different designs.

Listen to learn how dressing design supports better pressure injury prevention in real clinical settings.

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Pressure injuries caused by medical devices are more common than many realize, especially in the ICU. In this episode, Dr. Lee Ruotsi is joined by Dr. Kelly McFee, DNP, a seasoned wound care expert and past Chair of the Board of Directors at the American College of Clinical Wound Specialists, to talk about what causes these injuries, where they show up, and how to prevent them.

Dr. McFee shares what she learned while working with critically ill patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the use of respiratory devices like BiPAP and CPAP led to a spike in facial injuries. She explains how her team responded by creating a simple, grab-and-go dressing bundle that helped drive compliance and made prevention easier for staff. They also get into early detection tools like SEM scanners and the importance of recognizing psychological impacts, especially when injuries are visible on the face.

For anyone involved in caring for high-risk patients, this conversation is full of practical strategies that can make a real difference.

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