The Development of Pressure Sores During Hospitalisation

Summary

A regional survey in a county representative of the Danish population showed an incidence of 43.1 pressure sore patients and 61.5 sores per 100 000 inhabitants. 59 per cent of the patients were in hospitals or specialised nursing homes and out of these 63 per cent had developed their sores during hospitalisation. The pressure which causes the sores is generally related to the hospital bed but in surgical departments the main trauma often occurs in the operating theatres, on operation tables and on traction tables for the treatment of femoral neck fractures. Changes of routine pre- and post operatively and during operation, construction of new mattresses for the operating table and aboli tion of traction tables in their present form would significantly enhance pressure sore prevention in hospitals.