A Survey of Pressure Ulcers in Shimane Prefectural Central Hospital from 2007 to 2009

Abstract

The department of countermeasures for pressure ulcers in Shimane Prefectural Central Hospital has been active in preventing pressure ulcers since 2002. In July 2007, we performed a survey of pressure ulcer patients, referred to as the “pressure ulcer round,” to enable adequate wound management and education of the nursing staff. The average age of patients in the pressure ulcer round was 76.2 years, the average number of patients per month was 53, and the average number of newly recruited patients was 20. The ratio of men to women was three to two. Furthermore, the percentage of patients with healing pressure ulcers between 2007 and 2009 was 42% and the percentage of deaths while treating pressure ulcers was 19%. These findings suggest that inpatients of the emergency medical care center were the most common patients in the pressure ulcer round, and that Shimane has the healthiest old age population Japan. These results increase the estimation of “jokuso-kanri-kasan” 4-fold.