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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Portable Thermographic Screening for Detection of Acute Wallenberg's Syndrome
Published on: September 19, 2019
Elevated sacral skin temperature (T(s)): a risk factor for pressure ulcer development in hospitalized neurologically
Wipa Sae-Sia1, Deidre D Wipke-Tevis, Donna A Williams
1Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
Abstract:
Pressure ulcer incidence and sacral skin temperature (T(s)) were measured in hospitalized neurologically impaired Thai patients ( n = 17) positioned supine and then laterally. Pressure ulcer incidence within 2 weeks of admission was 47%. Regardless of reclining position, mean sacral T(s) in subjects who developed a pressure ulcer was higher ( p < .01) than those who did not develop an ulcer. The data suggest that T(s) may increase at least 1.2 degrees C 24-96 hr before sacral pressure ulcer development. Sacral T(s) may be an objective predictor of sacral pressure ulcer development in hospitalized neurologically impaired Thai patients.
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