Pressure ulcers risk and prevalence in an admissions unit in a Belo Horizone teaching hospital

Abstract

This cross sectional descriptive study aims to identify the patients' risk of developing pressure ulcers (PU), to diagnose the occurrence of PU in the hospital unit, and to classify the PU according to location and staging. The 16 patients studied were admitted to a Medical-Surgical Clinic of a University Hospital in Minas Gerais. We employed the Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Ulcer Risk. Calculation of the prevalence rate and the absolute and relative frequencies were used in describing the variables. The interpretation of the Braden Scale score indicated that 74.9% of the patients presented no risk, 6.3% had high-risk and 18.8% a very high risk of developing pressure ulcer. Three patients had PU (18.8% prevalence). Regarding the PU classification, the largest percentage was in stage IV (58.9%) followed by stage II (23.5%). The results demonstrate that the use of the Braden Scale and the study of the PU prevalence in patients help the decision making and nursing actions interventions earlier on in the process.