title: Controversies in classifying and assessing grade 1 pressure ulcers.
abstract: Disagreement on how to assess grade 1 pressure ulcers has partly come about because there is no national grading system. There is debate about whether grade 1 ulcers are characterised by blanching or non-blanching erythema, whether damage starts at the epidermis or deeper at the interface of soft tissue and bone, and whether grade 1 ulcers are reversible. Purple ulcers are sometimes considered grade 1 tissue damage when, in fact, they signify full thickness skin loss. A review of the evidence can help to clarify the matter.
authors.affiliation: City Hospital NHS Trust, Birmingham.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bethell
mesh_terms: D004282:Documentation; D006801:Humans; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D009733:Nursing Diagnosis; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment