Pressure Ulcer
To view the entire topic, please log in or purchase a subscription.
5-Minute Clinical Consult (5MCC) app and website powered by Unbound Medicine helps you diagnose and manage 900+ medical conditions. Exclusive bonus features include Diagnosaurus DDx, 200 pediatrics topics, and medical news feeds. Explore these free sample topics:
-- The first section of this topic is shown below --
Basics
Description
- A localized area of skin or underlying tissue injury resulting from pressure and/or shear
- Classified in stages according to the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP):
- Stage I: nonblanchable erythema—intact skin with nonblanchable redness; darkly pigmented skin may not have visible blanching.
- Stage II: partial thickness skin loss—shallow open ulcer with a red-pink wound bed, without slough; or intact or open/ruptured serum-filled blister
- Stage III: full thickness skin loss—subcutaneous fat may be visible but bone, tendon, or muscle is not exposed; slough, if present, does not obscure depth of tissue loss.
- Stage IV: full thickness tissue loss—exposed bone, tendon, or joint; slough or eschar may be present but does not completely obscure wound base.
- Unstageable: depth unknown—base of the ulcer is covered by slough and/or eschar in the wound bed.
- Suspected deep tissue injury: depth unknown—purple or maroon area of intact skin or blood-filled blister
- Synonyms: decubitus ulcer; bedsore; pressure injury
Epidemiology
Incidence
Dependent on setting and population: 0–53.4% (1,2)
Prevalence
Dependent on setting and population: 0–72.5% (1,2)
Etiology and Pathophysiology
Complex process of risk factors interacting with external forces (pressure and/or shear) (3)
Risk Factors
- Mobility impairment
- Malnutrition
- Reduced perfusion
- Sensory impairement
- Medical devices
General Prevention
Commonly Associated Conditions
- Advanced age
- Immobility
- Trauma
- Hip fractures
- Diabetes
- Cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease
- Incontinence
-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please log in or purchase a subscription --
Basics
Description
- A localized area of skin or underlying tissue injury resulting from pressure and/or shear
- Classified in stages according to the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP):
- Stage I: nonblanchable erythema—intact skin with nonblanchable redness; darkly pigmented skin may not have visible blanching.
- Stage II: partial thickness skin loss—shallow open ulcer with a red-pink wound bed, without slough; or intact or open/ruptured serum-filled blister
- Stage III: full thickness skin loss—subcutaneous fat may be visible but bone, tendon, or muscle is not exposed; slough, if present, does not obscure depth of tissue loss.
- Stage IV: full thickness tissue loss—exposed bone, tendon, or joint; slough or eschar may be present but does not completely obscure wound base.
- Unstageable: depth unknown—base of the ulcer is covered by slough and/or eschar in the wound bed.
- Suspected deep tissue injury: depth unknown—purple or maroon area of intact skin or blood-filled blister
- Synonyms: decubitus ulcer; bedsore; pressure injury
Epidemiology
Incidence
Dependent on setting and population: 0–53.4% (1,2)
Prevalence
Dependent on setting and population: 0–72.5% (1,2)
Etiology and Pathophysiology
Complex process of risk factors interacting with external forces (pressure and/or shear) (3)
Risk Factors
- Mobility impairment
- Malnutrition
- Reduced perfusion
- Sensory impairement
- Medical devices
General Prevention
Commonly Associated Conditions
- Advanced age
- Immobility
- Trauma
- Hip fractures
- Diabetes
- Cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease
- Incontinence
There's more to see -- the rest of this entry is available only to subscribers.