Prolonged tissue crompression due to sitting, lying or wearing brace in a heathy person results in discomfort and pain due to local isquemia. The normal protective pahtways are interrupted, however, in paraplegics, quadriplegic or the signals are ignored in severely de hibilitade, eldery or chronic ill patients. The pressure sore develops in these patients. Few papers have been done in Brazil abour pressure sores, despite economic problem envolved with. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the epidemiology, treatment and complications of pressure sores in the Hospital das Clínicas (University of São Paulo) from February 1997 to March 1999 in the Orthopedics Institute. A prospective study has been done. Data were evaluated as to the sex, age, sites, classification, type of treatment employed, length of stay and complications. The treatment was evaluated by the success rate and recurrence rate . The average follow-up period was 1 year and a half, ranging from 6 month to 2 years. 77 pressure sores in 45 patients were apraised. 36 men and 9 women, age range 17-64, mean 34,78 years. Of the patients, 100% had severe spinal cord injuries, and most of them victims of gun shot (60%). 93,3% of the wound were chronic (present longer than 3 months). 77,92% were treated by surgical procedures, and most of them with myocutaneous flaps (45%). The success rate changed with the site of the lesion: 80% trochanter, 84% sacrum and 66,6% ischium. The recurrence rate was 25%. The complication rate also changed with the site of the lesion: 84% trocanter, 64% sacrum and 50% isquium.
Pressure sores; Treatment; Epidemiology
