Prevalence of pressure ulcer and its related factors in elderly patients hospitalized to teaching hospitals in East Guilan abstract
Introduction:
Pressure ulcer is a pressure induced tissue injury that can affect the skin, muscle, connective tissue,
cartilage, and bone. Pressure ulcer is a painful, debilitating condition that endangers a person's health by increasing
mortality and morbidity in terms of length of hospital stay, increasing the rate of infection, and the need for surgical
procedures. Pressure ulcers are the third most expensive disease after cancer and cardiovascular diseases. About two
thirds of hospital beds are occupied by people ove r 65 years old. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of
pressure ulcer and its related factors in elderly patients hospitalized at teaching hospitals in Guilan, Iran Iran.
Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study in which elderly patients who had been
hospitalized for 24 hours or more in the intensive care units, internal and surgical war ds of East Guilan educational
hospitals were eligible for the study. Using the available stratified sampling method, 250 patients aged 60 years and
older were included in our study. Data collection tools included socio demographic and medical profile quest ionnaires
and the Braden pressure ulcer risk assessment scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 statistical software.
Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, Chi square, and Fisher's exact tests were used to analyze data at a significant
level of P<0.05
Results:
The prevalence of pressure ulcer in elderly patients hospitalized in teaching hospitals in was 26.4%. There
was a significant relationsh ip between the presence of pressure ulcer with age, length of hospital stay, type of ward,
urinary and fecal incontinence, edema, level of consciousness, type of mattress used, connection to mechanical
ventilation, position change, sensory perception areas , humidity, activity, and mobility. There was no significant
relationship between the presence of pressure ulcer with gender, marital status, and surgical history
Conclusion:
P ressure ulcer has a high prevalence in hospitalized elderly and it is always accompanied by serious
complications. it is better for nurses to check patients regularly a nd prevent its occurrence by controlling significant
risk factors.