Exploratory Analysis of Factors Associated With Pressure Injuries in Surgical Patients Assessed With the ELPO Scale

Area of Science:

• Perioperative Medicine
• Surgical Nursing
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Pressure injuries (PI) are a significant concern in surgical patients.
• Effective risk assessment tools are crucial for preventing PI.
• The ELPO Scale offers a structured approach to perioperative risk evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify predictors of pressure injury (PI) in surgical patients.
• To explore the relationship between preventive resources and PI outcomes.
• To evaluate the utility of the ELPO Scale in assessing PI risk.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cross-sectional study of 2698 adult surgical patients (2020-2022).
• Analysis of ELPO score, surgical factors, preventive resources, and clinical data.
• Application of logistic regression, Random Forest, and CART models with performance evaluation.

Main Results:

• PI incidence was 2.9%.
• Increased PI risk associated with male sex, lateral surgical position, and thermal mattress use.
• Longer surgical time (≥2h) was linked to lower PI occurrence; ELPO score was the most influential predictor.

Conclusions:

• ELPO-based assessment aids in identifying surgical patients at high risk for PI.
• Structured perioperative risk evaluation can support PI prevention strategies.
• The developed predictive models require external validation due to exploratory nature.