Pressure ulcers are still considered a serious problem, especially in elderly people and in situations of chronic-degenerative diseases. The purpose of this study was to identify the literature production about actions of prevention and treatment performed by nurses published from 1999 to 2004, describing the knowledge produced about the theme. This is a descriptive literature review of nursing journals indexed in LILACS and MEDLINE about the theme from 1999 to 2004. Data collection occurred from May to June, 2005. Afterwards, the material was read exhaustively, which yielded three aspects to be studied: prevention of pressure ulcers, treatment of pressure ulcers and nursing care of pressure ulcers. It was also concluded that there is need for research involving the work of the nurses in the clinical evaluation of the client and the development of systematized prevention programs.
Pressure ulcer; Pressure ulcer; Nursing care
