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Predictors of pressure ulcers in adult critical care patients

Jill Cox1

  • 1Jill Cox is an advanced practice nurse and a wound, ostomy, continence nurse at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Englewood, New Jersey.

American Journal of Critical Care : an Official Publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
|September 3, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Critical illness increases pressure ulcer risk. Key predictors include patient age, intensive care unit length of stay, reduced mobility, friction/shear, vasopressor use, and cardiovascular disease.

Area of Science:

  • Critical care medicine
  • Nursing research
  • Patient safety

Background:

  • Pressure ulcers are a significant concern in critically ill patients, with escalating prevalence despite existing guidelines.
  • A lack of consensus exists regarding key risk factors and specialized assessment tools for pressure ulcers in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the most predictive risk factors for pressure ulcer development in adult critical care patients.
  • To evaluate various factors including Braden Scale scores, mobility, age, vital signs, and comorbidities.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective correlational study design was employed.
  • Data were collected from 347 patients admitted to a medical-surgical intensive care unit between October 2008 and May 2009.

Main Results:

  • Logistic regression identified age, length of stay, mobility, friction/shear, norepinephrine infusion, and cardiovascular disease as significant predictors.
  • These factors explained a substantial portion of the variance in pressure ulcer development.

Conclusions:

  • Existing pressure ulcer risk assessment scales may not adequately capture risks specific to critically ill adults.
  • A new risk assessment model tailored for this patient group is needed to improve prevention strategies.
Abstract

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