title: Incidence, contributory factors and costs of pressure sores.
abstract: Although pressure sores are an increasing problem in long-term medical care, the magnitude and costs of the complication are not well documented. In this article an investigation of the pressure sore problem in a general hospital is described. The incidence of patients with pressure sores was found to be 4,5% of the total patient population, with an additional 5,2% showing signs of skin discoloration from excessive or prolonged pressure. The majority of patients with sores were over 60 years of age, incontinent, immobile and White.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D013019:South Africa