Abstract

INTRODUCTION

This research was conducted to offer an academic contribution to the studies on “Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Sores” through the determination of the risk factors affecting the development of pressure sores and the identification of the incidence of pressure sores at the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of Education and Research Hospital.

METHODS

The study was conducted with 948 patients at the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of a Education and Research Hospital as a descriptive study, between 01.01.2007 and 31.12.2007. The evaluation of the data obtained from the SPSS for Windows 10.0 program was used for research.

RESULTS

The results of the research suggest that 20.56 % of the patients (n=195) were observed to have pressure sores. This percentage is higher for 191 of the patients who were aged 75 and older with 31.4 % (n=60). However, 95.9% (n=117) of 122 patients with 11 or more days of hospital stay were observed to have pressure sores.

It was detected that 30.5 % of 195 patients with pressure sores (n=29) have more than one systemic diseases. It was identified that 46.3 % of the patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) (n=19) and 46.3 % of the patients with hypertension (HT) (n=14) are monitored to have a pressure sores.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

195 of 948 patients (20.56%) were observed to develop pressure ulcers in at least one region. It was determined most sores watched parts of the body; Heels (26.98%), sacral region (25.66%), trochanters (12.83%) respectively.