Investigation of the risk factors of pressure ulcers in intensive care unit patients: According to the Braden Scale

The study was planned as a descriptive study investigating the frequency of pressure ulcers in intensive care units and the correlation between pressure ulcers and Braden risk factor scores. A total of 414 patients who were admitted to the stated intensive care units between October 1, 2008 and January 4, 2010 were evaluated. Among those, 323 patients met the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. The Braden Risk Assessment Scale was used for risk evaluation. The incidence of pressure ulcers in the intensive care units was 17.0% (n=55). According to the Braden Risk Assessment Scale, only 12.3% (n=40) of the patients had no risk of pressure ulcer development. The incidence of pressure ulcer development in the internal medicine intensive care unit was significantly higher than that of surgical medicine intensive care unit (p=0.00). Anemic patients with a long duration of hospital stay, low level of albumin, and who were hospitalized in the internal medicine intensive care unit were determined to be statistically significantly at “very high risk” of pressure ulcer development (p<0.05). A statistically significant correlation was observed between the risk levels of the patients and pressure ulcer development (p=0.04). According to the results of this study, the duration of hospital stay, immobility, obesity, unconsciousness, friction, and rupture parameters are risk factors that lead to the development of pressure ulcers.