PRESSURE ULCER

Pressure Ulcer

Pressure Ulcer

Introduction

Pressure ulcers are defined as any area of damage to the skin and underlying tissue caused by prolonged pressure on a flat hard, not necessarily strong, and independent of the position. Currently discarded the term pressure ulcer not to refer to the pressure factor in its appearance, and to exclude that have not appeared in decubitus. It is a common problem in the care of chronically ill patients, especially in the elderly with limited mobility, with high morbidity and mortality and high economic and social impact. The most important thing is that 95% of the PUs are preventable and therefore prevention is a priority based primarily on methods that quantify risk factors that help predict the effect on the tissues (Ankrom, 2005).

Causes of Pressure Ulcers

Studies have shown that there are several risk factors that are associated with the development of pressure ulcers, while there is still some lack of clarity relating to the cause and risk factors for pressure ulcers development, most researchers concur that the origin of this problem relates to two categories; intrinsic risk factors and extrinsic risk factors.

Intrinsic Risk Factors for Pressure Ulcers

Several conditions have been suggested in the literature as a potential cause or risk for pressure ulcer development. A study was conducted a cross- sectional prevalence with 1992 subjects to identify and describe the relationship of factors associated with pressure ulcers in adults within acute care hospitals, using logistic regression analysis. The mean age of the sample was 62.5 years with more thins 50 % of the subjects between 70 and 80 years old. Among the demographic and clinical information captured were age, gender, length or stay and type of clinical services (Ankrom, 2005). Race was not included. Findings indicated that age, male gender, sensory perception, moisture, mobility, nutrition, friction and ...