Prevalence of pressure ulcers in primary health care: The Cuenca study

Abstract

Objectives: 1) To determine the point prevalence of pressure ulcers (PU) and 2) to characterize the identified patients and lesions. Methods: Observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study, settled in the “Gerencia de Atención Integrada” of Cuenca (Spain). An ad hoc online questionnaire was sent to all nurses attending Primary Care centres, and epidemiologic and clinic variables related to patients with PU were recorded. Results: In total, 152 professionals (response rate 98.1%) answered the questionnaire, recording data of 131,190 habitants. We identified 72 PUs from 51 patients (86.6 ±10.4 years), which represents an overall prevalence of 0.389 (IC 95%: 0.296-0.511). The global prevalence was higher in women than men (0.532 vs. 0.245, p = 0,008, respectively) and increased with age, finding a prevalence in patients ≥ 65 years old of 1.982 and 1.144 for women and men, respectively. A risk assessment scale for PU prevention was not used in up to 32.1% of patients, and 43.2% of patients did not use any pressure relieving support surface. Multiple lesions were identified in 47.2% of patients, and 97.2% of PUs had a category >1. A wet wound healing therapy was used in 59.7% of the lesions. Conclusions: Overall, the prevalence of PU found in a rural province was low, but the distribution of age and gender as well as the profile of the lesions were like those found in national studies. The use of preventive strategies and evidence-based treatments is still low.