Prevalência de úlceras por pressão num centro hospitalar da região centro

Abstract

The main objective of this investigation was to estimate the prevalence of pressure ulcers in a Hospital Center in the central region of Portugal, as well as to characterize patients with pressure ulcers, taking into account their demographic and clinical characteristics. This prevalence study was developed in three units of a Hospital Center and the sample was composed of 1.064 individuals with pressure ulcer, during the period from January 1st to December 31st of 2015. The results of this study showed an overall prevalence rate of 6.4% of patients with pressure ulcer. In an attempt to characterize these patients with pressure ulcer, we found that the majority of patients were female, with ages ranging from 80 to 89 years old, were hospitalized in the Internal Medicine service, presented a main diagnosis of respiratory disease, and had an average of about two pressure ulcers, ranging from one to a maximum of six pressure ulcers. These ulcers are mostly of category 2 and are located mostly in the sacral region. The prevalence rate found in this study is considerably lower than that reported in previous studies, both nationally and internationally. According to previous studies, pressure ulcers remain a serious problem for the hospitalized population. The present study made it possible to identify the prevalence of patients with pressure ulcers in this Hospital Center, proving to be an important asset in planning of effective interventions in the prevention of pressure ulcer, making a contribution to future research on this subject.

Date of Award	7 Dec 2017
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Paulo Alves (Supervisor)