Comparing the Braden and Jackson/Cubbin Pressure Injury Risk Scales in Trauma-Surgery ICU Patients

Area of Science:

• Critical care medicine
• Nursing research
• Patient safety

Background:

• Pressure injuries are a significant concern in critical care, necessitating accurate risk assessment tools.
• The Braden scale shows limited predictive accuracy in critical care populations.
• The Jackson/Cubbin scale, developed for critically ill patients, requires evaluation in trauma-surgical intensive care units.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the predictive performance of the Braden scale and the Jackson/Cubbin scale.
• To assess pressure injury risk in a trauma-surgical critical care population.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 366 trauma-surgical critical care patient records.
• Evaluation of Braden and Jackson/Cubbin scale predictive properties, including sensitivity, specificity, and AUC.
• Determination of negative and positive predictive values for both scales.

Main Results:

• The Jackson/Cubbin scale exhibited higher negative predictive value (87% vs. 78%) and positive predictive value (66% vs. 53%) compared to the Braden scale.
• Sensitivity was significantly better for the Jackson/Cubbin scale (54% vs. 17%).
• The Jackson/Cubbin scale demonstrated a higher area under the curve (0.793 vs. 0.710), indicating superior discrimination.

Conclusions:

• The Jackson/Cubbin scale offers superior predictive accuracy for pressure injuries in critically ill trauma-surgical patients.
• This finding supports the use of the Jackson/Cubbin scale for enhanced pressure injury risk stratification in this specific patient group.
• Improved risk assessment can lead to more targeted prevention strategies.