Despite implementation of extensive prevention initiatives, pressure ulcers continue to occur in hospitalized patients. Prevalence rates are highest among patients in intensive care settings. Identifying risk factors that accurately predict pressure ulcers aids in selecting the most appropriate prevention strategies. In a retrospective descriptive study of 347 adult patients admitted to a medical-surgical intensive care unit (ICU), Cox found the following:
—Karen A. McQuillan,rn, ms, cns-bc, ccrn, cnrn
See Article, pp 364–375
What are the risk factors for discharge to a care facility in patients who are critical care survivors? This retrospective cohort study used the first 72 hours of admission information from 548 medical intensive care unit patient survivors in an existing clinical research database. Gehlbach and colleagues found that 143 patients (26.1%) were discharged to a care facility with the following independent risk factors:
Patients discharged to a care facility also had longer hospital length of stay...
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