Risk of pressure injury among users of emergency care units

Descriptive, cross-sectional, and quantitative by applying the Braden scale to 377 patients from eight units in Paraná, between April and September 2016. Descriptive statistics and Spearman's correlation were used, with a significance of 0.1% for analysis.

Results:

There was a prevalence of risk-free patients (64.5%; n=243) and of older adults (54.6%; n=206); those at high risk for pressure injury were in the emergency department. Most of the variables were preserved, with emphasis on sensory perception (65.3%; n=246). The Spearman's correlation coefficient was at least 0.93 and indicated a strong linear relation between the results obtained in the variables and in the scale; it was verified that the risk for pressure injury increases with age.

Conclusions:

Most of the patients were not at risk; however, the older adults and those treated in the emergency department were at high risk of developing pressure injuries.

Keywords:
Emergency medical services; Pressure ulcer; Emergency nursing; Risk factors; Patient safety; Skin

Variables	Sector						Total
	Observation			Emergency		Hospitalization
	n	%	n	%	n	%	Total	n	%
Age group (in years old)
18-59	116	68.6	41	27.9	13	21.3	171	45.4
≥ 60	53	31.4	105	72.1	48	78.7	206	54.6
Total	169	44.8	147	39.0	61	16.2	377	100

Variables	Risk								Total
	High		Mild		Moderate		Without risk		Total
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Gender
Female	49	22.0	14	6.3	15	6.7	145	65.0	223	100
Male	41	26.6	05	3.3	10	6.5	98	63.6	154	100
Sector
Emergency	72	49.0	11	7.5	17	11.6	47	32.0	147	100
Hospitalization	17	27.9	04	6.5	06	9.8	34	55.7	61	100
Observation	01	0.6	04	2.4	02	1.2	162	95.8	169	100
Total	90	23.9	19	5.0	25	6.6	243	64.5	377	100

Variables	Service sector
	Emergency		Hospitalization		Observation
	(n=147)		(n=61)		(n=169)
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Sensory perception
Totally limited	34	23.1	6	9.8	0	0
Very limited	27	18.4	6	9.8	1	0.6
Slightly limited	37	25.2	15	24.6	5	3.0
No limitation	49	33.3	34	55.8	163	96.4
Skin moisture
Constantly moist	12	8.2	4	6.5	0	0
Very moist	60	40.8	17	27.9	2	1.2
Occasionally moist	32	21.8	5	8.2	4	2.4
Rarely moist	43	29.2	35	57.4	163	96.4
Professional
Bedridden	95	64.6	24	39.3	2	1.2
Restricted to the chair	4	2.7	5	8.2	5	3.0
Occasionally walks	16	10.9	12	19.7	4	2.4
Frequently walks	32	21.8	20	32.8	158	93.4
Mobility
Completely immobilized	39	26.5	7	11.5	0	0
Very limited	45	30.6	13	21.3	3	1.8
Slightly limited	20	13.6	10	16.4	5	2.9
No limitation	43	29.3	31	50.8	161	95.3
Nutrition
Very poor	20	13.6	1	1.6	0	0
Probably inadequate	63	42.9	19	31.2	4	2.4
Adequate	30	20.4	28	45.9	7	4.1
Excellent	34	23.1	13	21.3	158	93.5
Friction and shearing
Problem	55	37.4	13	21.3	0	0
Potential problem	39	26.5	11	18.0	4	2.4
No apparent problem	53	36.1	37	60.7	165	97.6
Total	147	100	61	100	169	100

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Escola de Enfermagem Rua São Manoel, 963 -Campus da Saúde , 90.620-110 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brasil, Fone: (55 51) 3308-5242 / Fax: (55 51) 3308-5436 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brazil
E-mail: revista@enf.ufrgs.br

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[1] Corresponding author:
Danieli Parreira da Silva d_enf@yahoo.com.br