[Typology of wounds treated in primary care: Multicenter cross-sectional study].

BACKGROUND

The care of people with skin wounds is an important health problem, that affect the quality of life of patients and their families, and has a great socioeconomic impact. Knowing the situation of the problem is the first step for different health approaches. In our territory since 2010 no type of follow-up has been carried out on the wounds that we are treating, we propose to know the typology and characteristics of active wounds in the population assisted by Primary Care.

METHODS

Multicenter cross-sectional descriptive study carried out in a metropolitan area of Catalonia in Primary Care Teams and residences. Participants were all patients with active wounds. A record made by the patient's referring nurses was used. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed.

RESULTS

About 1,978 people participated, presenting 2,471 injuries. The overall prevalence was 0.22%. At home patients, the prevalence was 3.58% and in nursing homes, 6.56%. Of all the lesions, 46.5% were acute and 53.4% chronic, the mean size was 3.13cm. Of the chronic wounds, 345 (26.2%) had an evolution of more than 1year. The most prevalent injuries were venous ulcers in Primary Care Teams and categoryII pressure injuries in residential centers.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study present an objective reality about the injuries that are treated in primary care, both in Primary Care Centers, homes or residences, as well as their description.