Pressure ulcers in secondary care: incidence, prevalence, and relevance.
OBJECTIVE
To compare point and period prevalence rates.


METHODS
Descriptive, cohort, cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
From a cohort of 25,075 cases, information on pressure ulcer status on admission was recorded for 20,283 cases. From 3237 selected cases, the pressure ulcer team made 2234 assessments.


METHODS
Point prevalence, period prevalence, and incidence rates.


RESULTS
The cohort showed a period prevalence rate of 1.4% and an incidence rate of 0.6%. Patients with a pressure ulcer were older, were more likely to have had surgery, had longer hospital stays, and had a higher cost weight. The cross-sectional survey revealed a point prevalence rate of 5.3%. Patients within the cross-sectional survey had longer lengths of stay, were more likely to have had surgery, and presented a higher cost weight in comparison with the cohort.


CONCLUSIONS
In an unselected hospital sample one can expect a period prevalence rate of 2% and a point prevalence rate of 10%. As demonstrated by the present study, differences between the 2 prevalence measurements are mainly due to the confounding of point prevalence rates by length of stay. Length of stay determines the probability of inclusion in a cross-sectional study and should be considered in pressure ulcer trials in the future.
Stausberg
Jürgen
J
Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
Kröger
Knut
K
Maier
Irene
I
Schneider
Helmut
H
Niebel
Wolfgang
W
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011159:Population Surveillance; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index