A Retrospective, Descriptive Analysis of Hospital-acquired Deep Tissue Injuries

Preventing, identifying, and treating deep tissue injury (DTI) remains a challenge.

The purpose of the current research was to describe the characteristics of DTIs and patient/care variables that may affect their development and outcomes at the time of hospital discharge.

A retrospective, descriptive, single-site cohort study of electronic medical records was conducted between October 1, 2010, and September 30, 2012, to identify common demographic, intrinsic (eg, mobility status, medical comorbidities, and incontinence), extrinsic (ie, surgical and procedural events, medical devices, head-of-bed elevation), and care and treatment factors related to outcomes of hospital-acquired DTIs; additional data points related to DTI development or descriptive of the sample (Braden Scale scores and subscale scores, hospital length of stay [LOS], intensive care unit [ICU] LOS, days from admission to DTI, time in the operating room, serum albumin levels, support surfaces/specialty beds, and DTI locations) also were retrieved. DTI healing outcomes, grouped by resolved, partial-thickness/stable, and full-thickness/unstageable, and 30 main patient/treatment variables were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis, chi-squared, and Fischer exact tests.

One hundred, seventy-nine (179) DTIs occurred in 141 adult patients (132 in men, 47 in women; mean patient age 64 [range 19-94]). Of those patients, 110 had a history of peripheral vascular disease and 122 had hypertension. Sixty-nine (69) DTIs were documented in patients who died within 1 year of occurrence. Most common DTI sites were the coccyx (47 [26%]) and heel (42 [23%]); 41 (22%) were device-related. Median hospital LOS was 23 (range 4-258) days and median ICU LOS was 12 (range 1-173) days; 40 DTIs were identified before surgery and 120 after a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure. Data for DTI outcome groups at hospital discharge included 28 resolved, 131 partial-thickness/stable, and 20 full-thickness/unstageable; factors significantly different between outcome groups included mechanical ventilation (15/42/12; P = .01), use of a feeding tube (15/46/12; P = .02), anemia (14/30/9; P = .005), history of cerebrovascular accident (12/27/7; P = .03), hospital LOS (67/18/37.5; P <.001), ICU LOS (23/10/12; P = .03), time-to-event (13.5/8/9; P = .001), vasopressor use after DTI (13/31/11; P = .003), low-air-loss surface (10/9/3; P = .005), and device-related (14/24/4; P = .002).

DTI risk factors mirrored those of other PUs, but progression to full-thickness injury was not inevitable. Early and frequent assessment and timely intervention may help prevent DTI progression.