[Urinary incontinence as a risk factor for pressure sores does not withstand a critical examination]

The association between urinary incontinence and pressure sores is put down to various causes. Most frequently urinary wet and following maceration of the skin are mentioned. However, it is possible that urinary incontinence is only an indicator for other risk factors or a measure of the need for care without any causal relation to pressure sores. There are hardly any controlled or randomised studies; this lack of scientific evidence is problematic. Based on a case-control-study including data of 200 patients as well as on the existing models of explanation, the following study tries to examine critically the connections between pressure sores and urinary incontinence. Out of the patients in our study population 97.5 percent were incontinent. Different categories of the risk factor urinary incontinence and different dichotomisations have led to different statistical results. Statements concerning the connection between urinary incontinence and pressure sores have to be interpreted critically. The dependence of urinary incontinence on other risk factors such as patients' need for care or compliance suggests that the causal connection to pressure sores be not reduced to the influence of wetness. We advise to research connections between urinary incontinence and pressure sores in a methodologically appropriate setting.