Sacral Skin Temperature Assessed by Thermal Imaging: Role of Patient Vascular Attributes.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that temperature differentials measured by thermal imaging of sacral versus a remote skin area in critically ill patients differentiate those with significant vascular disease and risk for pressure injury of the sacral area.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Subjects And Setting: The sample comprised 100 patients (58 men, 42 women) with mean ± SD ages of 70.