الفهرس 
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Abstract
Critically ill patients are particularly vulnerable to dermal pressure ulcer development, because they are confined to bed, of limited mobility, on invasive and non invasive procedure that restricted their movement, analgesics and inotropes medication and the vast majority are on mechanical ventilation. Pressure ulcers adversely affect the quality of life of many patients and cause anxiety and distress for their families.
Mechanical ventilation, a general intervention for critically ill patients, can lead to decreased venous return to the heart, left ventricular end-diastolic volume, cardiac output, and hypotension with decreased tissue perfusion. Ventilated patients also experience impaired mobility, increased risk for infection, and poor nutritional status. Decreased oxygenation and decreased tissue perfusion may lead to tissue necrosis, allowing for the development of dermal pressure ulcers.
Dermal pressure ulcer is defined as ‘an area of localized damage to the skin and underlying tissue, caused by pressure, shear, friction and or a combination of these’. Patients in the critical care units are usually with severely limited mobility, not able to signal increased tissue pressure and react accordingly, they have received analgesics, sedation or muscle relaxants, inotropes and positive pressure ventilation may adversely affect the pump action of the heart, leading to reduced blood circulation in the skin and underlying tissues. So they report higher rates of dermal pressure ulcer formation compared with patients in general wards.
The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between dermal pressure ulcers occurrence, oxygenation and perfusion in mechanically ventilated patients. A descriptive design was used in this study.