title: Prevalence of postoperative pressure ulcer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A pressure ulcer is a serious safety issue in healthcare systems. The patient's rate of infection with an ulcer, especially a postoperative ulcer, is critical, as it is dictated by factors such as being in a fixed position during surgery, the type of anesthesia used, the duration of surgery, and patient-related factors. The present study was conducted to carry out a systematic assessment of the prevalence of a postoperative pressure ulcer and to find its general prevalence using a meta-analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The researchers searched databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, the Thomson Reuters' Web of Science (WOS). For English articles published online between January 2000 and October 2015 on the subject of a pressure ulcer, a total of 19 articles were ultimately selected based on the study inclusion criteria. Then results were analyzed in Stata-11.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 19 articles qualified for entering the meta-analysis examined a total of 9527 patients. The studies estimated the general prevalence of a postoperative pressure ulcer as 18.96% (CI 95%: 15.3-22.6); the prevalence by gender was reported as 10.1% (CI 95%: 7.2-13.01) in men and 12.8% (CI 95%: 8.3-17.2) in women. Stage 1 ulcer had a 17.02% prevalence (CI 95%: 11.04-22.9), stage 2 a 6.7% prevalence (CI 95%: 3.8-9.7), stage 3 a 0.9% prevalence (CI 95%: 0.2-1.6), and stage 4 a 0.4% (CI 95%: -0.05-0.8) prevalence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of a postoperative pressure ulcer is high among the entire population; however, it is still higher in women than in men. The prevalence of a stage 1 ulcer is higher than the prevalence of the other stages of an ulcer.
authors.affiliation: Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Nasibeh Nursing & Midwifery Faculty, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Vida
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shafipour
authors.affiliation: M.Sc. of Critical Care Nursing, Student's Research Committee, Nasibeh Nursing & Midwifery Faculty Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Ensieh
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ramezanpour
authors.affiliation: Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Nasibeh Nursing & Midwifery Faculty, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali Heidari
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gorji
authors.affiliation: Ph.D. of Epidemiology, Assistant Professor, Health Science Research Center, Faculty of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moosazadeh
keywords: Pressure ulcer; Prevalence; Risk factors; Surgical patients