Determination of Pressure Injury Prevalance and Risk Factors in Children

Abstract

Aim

Pressure injury is a serious health problem not only among adults but also among children. However, anatomical and physiological differences of the children may affect the prevalence of pressure injury. The current study aimed at determining the prevalence of pressure injuries and its risk factors for use in designing prevention programs.

Method

This was a 1-day in-depth assessment of all children who were hospitalized at a tertiary center in Turkey. Included were children who were admitted without pressure injuries. Observation and face-to-face interviews were undertaken to assess each child for the presence or absence of pressure injury using an Individual Characteristics Form, the Braden Scale, and the Braden Q Scale for Predicting Pressure Injury Risk. In addition, each child was assessed with the Glasgow Coma Scale and given a nutritional assessment.

Findings

Pressure injury had developed in 17 of the 143 patients (12%). For these children, average age was 66.2 ± 616 months, mean body weight was 19.7 ± 16.5 kg and most of them were determined as underweight according to a body mass index of 70.6% (12 children). Male gender was identified in 64.7% (11 children). Among the children in whom pressure injury developed, it was seen that average hemoglobin value was 9.5 ± 1.6 g/dl and average albumin value was 2.7 ± 0.2 g/dl. It was found out that mean Glasgow Coma Scale score was 10.7 ± 4.6 and mean Braden Risk Score was 15.3 ± 5.2, which indicates moderate risk. Furthermore, 58.8% of the children were treated in the intensive care unit; 52.9% of the children (nine children) had neurological problems, whereas 70.6% of them (12 children) had chronic medical problems. It was discovered that the rate of the patients whose pressure injury was Grade 1 was 47.1% (eight children).

Conclusion

In the current study, prevalence of pressure injury was 12%. Most of the children in whom pressure injuries developed had low body mass index and albumin values and neurological and chronic diseases, showing that these children were under risk for pressure injuries. The results obtained from the current study will be evaluated as evidence to prevent and treat pressure injuries at the institution where the study was done.