A prospective, descriptive study to determine the rate and characteristics of and risk factors for the development of medical device-related pressure ulcers in intensive care units

Abstract

Pressure ulcers do not develop only in areas with bony prominences; they can develop in any tissue under pressure, including pressure exerted by medical devices. A prospective, descriptive study was conducted from December 15, 2013 to March 25, 2014 to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and characteristics of medical device-related hospitalacquired pressure ulcers (MDR HAPUs) among all patients (N = 175) in 5 adult intensive care units (ICUs) in a university hospital in Turkey. The previously established point prevalence of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (HAPUs) in these ICUs was 15%. Patients were evaluated in the first 24 hours after admission and observed 6 times thereafter in intervals of 48 hours. Demographic (eg, age, gender, body mass index) and medical device-related pressure ulcer data (eg, location, device type, stage), and Braden Scale scores were collected and analyzed; frequencies and percentages were calculated and Mann-Whitney U Test, t-test, and odds ratios were applied. Twenty-seven (27) patients (15.4%) developed nonMDR HAPUs and 70 (40.0%) developed MDR HAPUs. MDR HAPUs occurred most frequently (45.0%) in patients with an endotracheal tube. The most frequent type (42.6%) was Stage II. The highest rates of MDR HAPUs were observed among internal medicine ICU patients (OR 7.041), patients who also had a nonMDR HAPU (OR 6.6), patients in the high Braden risk score group (OR 1.8), or patients who received enteral feeding (OR 2.12). Because of the high rate of MDR HAPUs noted, policies and procedures aimed at preventing medical device-related pressure ulcers are needed.