title: Pressure ulcer incidence on a spinal cord injury unit.
abstract: Because of the high risk for pressure ulcers among hospitalized, spinal cord injured patients, one quality improvement measure is to monitor incidence of pressure ulcers. A retrospective chart review of each patient who developed an ulcer during an 18-month period revealed patient characteristics associated with pressure ulcer risk. Of 468 inpatient admissions, 35 patients developed 81 pressure ulcers. Patient variables associated with an incidence rate of 7.5% were an admission diagnosis of pressure ulcer, surgical repair of pressure ulcers, length of stay, new spinal cord injury, longstanding injury (> 10 years), and the use of condom catheters.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Bozzacco
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Stiens
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Buhrer
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lyman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000209:etiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D017749:Total Quality Management