Society guideline links: Pressure-induced skin and soft tissue injury

Introduction — 

This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.

The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.

Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Open wound management".)

International

●National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP), European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP), and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance (PPPIA): Prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers/injuries – Clinical practice guideline, 3rd edition (2019)

●World Union Of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS): Consensus document – Role of dressings in pressure ulcer prevention (2016)

●NPIAP, EPUAP, and PPPIA: White paper on the role of nutrition for pressure ulcer management (2015)

Canada

●Wounds Canada: Best practice recommendations for the prevention and management of pressure injuries (2018, updated 2021)

●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't add extra layers of bedding (sheets, pads) beneath patients on therapeutic surfaces (updated 2020)

●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't use a q2h turning routine unless it meets the older person's plan of care (updated 2020)

United States

●National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP): White paper on pressure injuries in the pediatric population (2019)

●Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN): 2016 guideline for prevention and management of pressure injuries (ulcers) − An executive summary (published 2017)

●WOCN: Society position paper on avoidable versus unavoidable pressure ulcers (injuries) (2017)

●Wound Healing Society (WHS): 2015 update on guidelines for pressure ulcers (published 2016)

●Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine: Pressure ulcer prevention and treatment following spinal cord injury – A clinical practice guideline for health-care professionals, 2nd edition (2014)

Europe

●National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP), European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP), and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance (PPPIA): Prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers/injuries – Clinical practice guideline, 3rd edition (2019)

●NPIAP, EPUAP, and PPPIA: White paper on the role of nutrition for pressure ulcer management (2015)

United Kingdom

●National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): Quality standard on pressure ulcers (2015)

●NICE: Clinical guideline on pressure ulcers – Prevention and management (2014)

Australia–New Zealand

●New South Wales (NSW) Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI): Clinical practice guide on preventing pressure injuries in critically ill patients (2025)

Japan

●[In Japanese] Japanese Dermatological Association (JDA): Wound, pressure ulcer, and burn guidelines – 2: Pressure ulcer treatment guidelines, 3rd edition (2023)

●[In Japanese] Japanese Society of Pressure Ulcers (JSPU): Pressure ulcer prevention and management guidelines, 5th edition (2022)

●[In English] JDA: Wound, pressure ulcer and burn guidelines – 2: Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pressure ulcers, second edition (2018)