[Adverse effects prevalence study: pressure ulcers in an acute hospital].

OBJECTIVE

The pressure ulcers (PU) are one of the adverse effects associated with hospitalisation. The aims of this study are, to determine the prevalence of PU in patients admitted to a tertiary hospital, to describe the characteristics of the injuries, to find out the frequency of use of special surfaces for managing pressure (SSMP), and to establish lines of action for their prevention.

METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study of adults patients admitted to hospital between May 11 and 15, 2009. Collected variables are: demographic data, number of PU, admission unit, risk level (measured by modified Gosnell's scale), stage, location, cause, origin of the injury and SSMP.

RESULTS

A total of 683 patients were studied, of which 70 (10.3%) of them had at least one wound. The risk of developing PU in patients evaluated as high risk, is more than those patients evaluated as no or low risk (OR: 6.26; 95% CI; 3.54-11.08; p<0.001). Most of the wounds they were stage I (39.1%) and stage II (35.2%), located mostly in the heel and sacrum, and (83.8 %) of the PU were of hospital origin. Only 28.1% of the available SSMP were used.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall percentage of PU is greater than that reported in other studies, but with less severe injuries. Patients at risk need to be identified and early preventive measures applied. In our hospital the use of SSMP is low in relation to the number of patients at risk.