Predictors of pressure ulcer risk in adult intensive care patients: A retrospective case-control study.

Objectives: To evaluate the predictive power of risk factors for pressure ulcers in adult intensive care patients.

Method: A retrospective case-control study was performed utilising a heterogeneous sample group allocated into a case group with pressure ulcers (n=90) and a control group without pressure ulcers (n=90). The analysis explored the predictive power of risk factors for pressure ulcers using a hierarchical logistic regression model.

Results: The risk factors that predicted pressure ulcers were friction (OR=5.97), previous history of pressure ulcers (OR=5.43), prolonged intensive care unit stay (OR=3.92), dehydration (OR=3.18), elevated skin temperature by 1-2°C (OR=3.12) and treatment of other comorbidities (OR=2.79).

Conclusion: Adult intensive care patients have an increased risk of developing a pressure ulcer. These risk factors are regarded as strong predictors for pressure ulceration. This study advances nursing knowledge in that it investigates additional risk factors for the development of pressure ulcers and it identifies a set of factors that best predict their occurrence, which may contribute to the nurses' diagnostic reasoning in the intensive care unit.