SKIN ASSESSMENT

Why is it important to consider the effects of laboratory and diagnostic testing on skin integrity?

• Venipuncture is invasive; complications include bleeding from the puncture site, hematoma, cellulitis, phlebitis, and infection or sepsis.
• Diagnostic procedures often involve the use of imaging tables and positioning equipment that are sometimes used over long periods of time and that may cause interface pressure damage to the skin.
• Laboratory procedures (specimen procurement) and diagnostic procedures (patient positioning) can cause skin complications—laboratory and diagnostic procedures are also used to predict risk for, identify, or monitor therapy administered for skin complications.