Abstract
Study design:
Secondary analysis of data from a prospective cohort study.
Objectives:
The objective of this study was to identify the medical and demographic factors associated with the development of pressure ulcers during acute-care hospitalization and inpatient rehabilitation following acute spinal cord injury.
Setting:
The study was carried out at acute hospitalization, inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient rehabilitation sites at a university medical center in the United States.
Methods:
Adults with acute traumatic spinal cord injury (n=104) were recruited within 24–72 h of admission to the hospital. Pressure ulcer incidence was recorded.
Results:
Thirty-nine participants out of 104 (37.5%) developed at least one pressure ulcer during acute-care hospitalization and inpatient rehabilitation. Univariate logistic regression analyses revealed significant association of pressure ulcer incidence for those with pneumonia and mechanical ventilation (P=0.01) and higher injury severity (ASIA A) (P=0.01). Multiple logistic regression showed that the odds of formation of a first pressure ulcer in participants with ASIA A was 4.5 times greater than that for participants with ASIA B, CI (1–20.65), P=0.05, and 4.6 times greater than that for participants with ASIA C, CI (1.3–16.63), P=0.01.
Conclusion:
Among individuals with acute traumatic SCI, those with high-injury severity were at an increased risk to develop pressure ulcers. Pneumonia was noted to be associated with the formation of pressure ulcers.
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Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Spinal Cord Injury, Grant #H133E070024. Additional support was received from the NIDILRR Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Research Training Program (Postdoctoral) Grant #90AR5009.
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Brienza, D., Krishnan, S., Karg, P. et al. Predictors of pressure ulcer incidence following traumatic spinal cord injury: a secondary analysis of a prospective longitudinal study. Spinal Cord 56, 28–34 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2017.96
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2017.96
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