Point prevalence and risk factors for pressure ulcers in hospitalized adult patients: a cross-sectional study

To estimate the point prevalence of and risk factors associated with the development of pressure ulcers at a university hospital in Brazil.

This study was conducted on 196 participants using a structured questionnaire, physical examination of the skin, and the Braden scale. The Mann-Whitney U, χ2, or Fisher's exact tests were used to compare the participants and the associations of variables with pressure ulcers. A modified multivariate Poisson regression model was built considering the presence of pressure injuries and the independent variables.

The point prevalence of pressure ulcers was 10.71% and was significantly associated with less than 12 years of schooling (p=0.0213), use of antihypertensive drugs during hospital stay (p=0.0259), diagnosis of systemic hypertension (p=0.0035), and diabetes mellitus. Lower scores on the Braden scale (p=0.0001) were positively associated with the presence of pressure ulcers. Furthermore, cardiovascular disease (p=0.0267) and diaper use (p=0.0001) were associated with the presence of pressure ulcers. Moreover, they were also associated with prolonged hospital stay, advanced age, less than 12 years of schooling, use of antihypertensive drugs, hypertension, diabetes, and lower Braden scale scores.

Health professionals should be aware of the risk factors associated with pressure ulcers, evaluate patient skin daily, and offer prevention. Our findings support the need to allocate resources for the prevention and treatment of pressure injuries.