Abstract
The diagnosis of pressure ulcer (PU) has been based on a physical examination consisting of inspection and palpation. Recently, a new type of etiology of PU has been emerging, referred to as a deep tissue injury (DTI). A DTI is difficult to evaluate by the usual inspection because invisible deep tissue damage is already present despite an intact or shallow skin appearance, rapidly deteriorating into an advanced stage. Ultrasonography (US) is a noninvasive, easy-to-use, and real-time technology that will be helpful for early detection of DTI and accurate diagnosis or evaluation of PU status and healing. The efficacy of US for PU assessment has been reported in previous reports. This review briefly introduces the basic diagnostic techniques and procedures of US for PU assessment. It is expected that US will be widely disseminated in the clinical field of PU management.
