title: Pressure ulcers in patients hospitalized in Internal Medicine: associated factors and mortality.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of pressure ulcers in patients hospitalized in internal medicine and the clinical factors and risk of death associated with its presence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study with patients hospitalized in internal medicine. We recorded the age, sex, presence of pressure ulcers, degree of ulceration, Barthel index, Norton scale, major diagnostic category, length of hospital stay and weight of the diagnosis-related groups. We compared the clinical characteristics of the patients with or without ulcers and analysed the mortality after 3 years based on the presence of ulcers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included 699 patients, 100 of whom (14.3%) had pressure ulcers (27 with grade I, 17 with grade II, 21 with grade III, 25 with grade IV and 10 with unknown grade). The Barthel index (OR 0.985; 95% CI 0.972-0.998; p=.022) and Norton scale (OR 0.873; 95% CI 0.780-0.997; p=.018) are independently associated with ulcers. Twenty-three percent of the patients with ulcers died during hospitalization, 68% died within a year, and 83% died within 3 years. The presence of pressure ulcers was independently associated with mortality (HR, 1.531; 95% CI 1.140-2.056; p=.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pressure ulcers are common in patients hospitalized in internal medicine, and their presence is associated with higher short, medium and long-term mortality.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Royo Villanova, Zaragoza, España; Grupo de Investigación en Comorbilidad y Pluripatología de Aragón, Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud, Zaragoza, España; Departamento de Medicina, Dermatología y Psiquiatría, Universidad de Zaragoza, España. Electronic address: jdiez@aragon.es.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Díez-Manglano
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Royo Villanova, Zaragoza, España.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernández-Jiménez
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Royo Villanova, Zaragoza, España.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Lambán-Aranda
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Royo Villanova, Zaragoza, España.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Landa-Santesteban
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Royo Villanova, Zaragoza, España.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Isasi de Isasmendi-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Royo Villanova, Zaragoza, España.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moreno-García
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Royo Villanova, Zaragoza, España.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bejarano-Tello
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Royo Villanova, Zaragoza, España.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barranco-Usón
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Royo Villanova, Zaragoza, España.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Munilla-López
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Royo Villanova, Zaragoza, España; Grupo de Investigación en Comorbilidad y Pluripatología de Aragón, Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud, Zaragoza, España; Departamento de Medicina, Dermatología y Psiquiatría, Universidad de Zaragoza, España.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Del Corral-Beamonte
keywords: Internal Medicine; Medicina Interna; Mortalidad; Mortality; Pressure ulcers; Úlceras por presión